LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Zamleather has pledged continued support to the growth of the leather industry in Zambia and called for a crackdown on cattle rustling to help preserve the sector.

The tannery and shoe division of Zambeef – and the company behind the popular Zamshu footwear brand – is committed to continue sourcing hides from local livestock farmers.
“Over the years, we’ve been working with about 20 famers from Lusaka, Southern, Central and Copperbelt provinces in our quest to help develop the leather and shoe industry in our country,” said Zamleather General Manager Richard Franklin.

“For over 13 years, our relationship with farmers has been strong, mutually beneficial, and built on trust,” he stressed.
Mr Franklin noted that Zamleather had been closely working with farmers to enhance animal skinning and conservation methods.

“As part of our strategy to help develop the leather industry in our country, we’ve constantly been working on improving flaying and preservation techniques with livestock farmers in order to provide for better finished leathers,” he explained.

The Zamleather General Manager also called for stiffer punishment to curb cattle rustling, which he singled out as one of the major threats to the growth of the leather industry in Zambia.

“There is need for stiffer punishment for cattle rustlers if our industry is to develop. Cattle rustling is a crime that has potential to not only hurt the country’s food security, but the country’s footwear industry as well,” he emphasised.
Mr Franklin explained that cattle rustling was responsible for indirectly damaging hides as most farmers used brands for easy animal identification.
“Farmers place more brands and bigger brands on their animals to make them easier to identify if stolen. The bigger and more multiple brands damage the hides and reduce their value as leather,” he said.

Mr Franklin also emphasised the need for purposeful government support to direct end users to buy locally produced leather goods.

“We are looking forward to the day when everyone in Zambia will wear some form of locally manufactured footwear, made from locally sourced hides. We believe that this vision could quickly become a reality with specific polices and targeted interventions from government; interventions that would make locally manufactured leather products more attractive to the people of Zambia,” he said.

Zamleather pledges continued support for local cattle industry

Zamleather pledges continued support for local cattle industry

About Zambeef Products Plc
Zambeef Products Plc is the largest integrated cold chain food products and agribusiness company in Zambia and one of the largest in the region, involved in the primary production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, eggs, dairy products, fish, flour and stockfeed, throughout Zambia and the surrounding region, as well as Nigeria and Ghana.

It has 228 retail outlets throughout Zambia and West Africa.

The company is one of the largest suppliers of beef in Zambia. Five beef abattoirs and three feedlots located throughout Zambia, with a capacity to slaughter 230,000 cattle a year. It is also one of the largest chicken and egg producers in Zambia, with a capacity of 8.8m broilers and 22.4 million day-old chicks a year.

It is one of the largest piggeries, pig abattoirs and pork processing plants in Zambia, with a capacity to slaughter 75,000 pigs a year, while its dairy has a capacity of 120,000 litres per day.

The Group is also one of the largest cereal row cropping operations in Zambia, with approximately 7,973 hectares of row crops under irrigation, which are planted twice a year, and a further 8,776 hectares of rainfed/dry-land crops available for planting each year.

Zambeef employs over 7,400 people with a total wage bill of K38 million per month.

More information is available at www.zambeefplc.com