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Module 12 · M16 Fibre and Leather

Hides, Skins and Leather

Is there a business in the hides and skins that every livestock chain produces, and at which step - collection, curing, tanning or manufacturing - does the money sit?

Open T-M16-01Next: M17All Majors
A shearing shed, sheep, cotton bushes and hides drying on a rackSHEARING

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Every slaughtered cow, sheep and goat leaves a hide or skin. Most are sold raw for very little or thrown away. Article 101 shows that the further down the leather chain a business sits, the more of the value it keeps: raw hides earn least, finished leather more, and leather goods the most.

Hides, Skins and Leather: the product, the five stages of the business, the unit it is sold by and where it is producedHides, Skins and Leather: how the business runsSold byhides or kg1Slaughter2Flay3Salt or dry4Tan5Leather goodsZAZWZMBWNAProduces commerciallyImports most needsZA South Africa, ZW Zimbabwe, ZM Zambia, BW Botswana, NA Namibia

U1. The industry and where it grows

Article 99 records that over 60% of South African hides are suitable for automotive leather, linking the cattle herd to the vehicle-manufacturing industry. Hides and skins come from abattoirs, so supply follows the slaughter numbers in Majors M9 to M12.

Botswana’s export abattoirs, Namibia’s export abattoirs, Zimbabwe’s abattoirs and Zambia’s integrated meat groups all generate hides. Zimbabwe produces about 5,000 tonnes of raw hides a year. Zambia exported US$3.06 million of raw hides and skins to Singapore in 2024. Botswana's BMC is investing P230 million in its meat plant and tannery, and Namibia exported 1,098,964 kilograms of hides and leather in 2025 after cutting its raw-hide export levy from 60% to 15%.

U2. Market structure and prices

Raw hides are sold by abattoirs and collectors to tanneries or exporters, priced per hide or per kilogram by grade. Grade depends on size, damage from ticks, brands and flaying cuts, and how well the hide was cured with salt. Prices follow world leather demand and have been weak for raw hides for years, which makes value-add more important.

U3. Imports and exports

Much of the region’s hide output is exported raw or semi-processed to tanneries in Asia and Europe, and finished leather goods are imported back. Article 101 calls this the missing manufacturing step.

U4. The value chain and who buys

Hides, Skins and Leather value chain: stages from inputs to the consumer, who operates each, where the margin is taken, where a small farm enters and who buysHides, Skins and Leather: the value chain and who buysFollow the product left to right. Ochre shows where most of the margin is taken. Green shows where a small farm can enter.1AbattoirAbattoirs andcollectors2CureSalt and drythe hidesMOST OF THE MARGIN3TanneryWet-blue,crust, finished4MakeShoes, bags,upholstery, carseats5RetailBrands andretailers6ConsumerLeather goodsYour entry pointCollect and cure hides properly; the grade of the cure decides the price.Buyers you can reachTanneries and hide traders.

Abattoirs and collectors supply hides; curers salt and dry them; tanneries convert them into wet-blue, crust or finished leather; manufacturers make shoes, bags, belts, upholstery and car seats. Article 100 calls the tannery the bottleneck, because tanning is capital-hungry, chemically demanding and environmentally regulated. Article 83, in Major M12, shows the same structure in ostrich leather.

U5. Market access and barriers

Tanneries need environmental permits and effluent treatment, which keeps small operators out of tanning itself. Hide quality is damaged on the farm by ticks, thorns and branding, and at slaughter by poor flaying. Export of raw hides may face levies in some markets designed to encourage local processing.

U6. The entry route

Real minimum capital. Collecting and salting hides needs a covered, drained curing shed, salt and transport. Leather goods manufacturing needs workshop space, cutting and sewing equipment and skilled craftspeople. Tanning needs heavy capital and permits beyond a small venture.

Input choke points. Consistent supply of good hides, salt, and buyers for cured hides; for manufacturing, a reliable supply of finished leather.

Offtake options. Tanneries and hide exporters for cured hides; retailers, tourism outlets, schools, uniforms and corporate buyers for leather goods.

Who to call. Local abattoirs for supply, tanneries for offtake, and in each market the trade promotion agency for leather goods export support.

The verdict for a small holding. A farm itself produces too few hides for a business. The realistic entries are hide collection and curing from several abattoirs, or small-scale leather goods manufacturing using bought-in finished leather and selling a branded product.

The South African benchmark and your market

Market Position Latest data-layer reference
South Africa Automotive leather link Over 60% of hides suitable for automotive leather
Zimbabwe Abattoir hides, small tanning and goods sector Raw hide production: 5,000 t/yr (2017), 3 figures (LIB-C-ZW-HidesSkinsLeather)
Zambia Integrated meat groups generate hides Raw hide and skin exports to Singapore: 3.06 USD million (2024), 2 figures (LIB-C-ZM-HidesSkinsLeather)
Botswana Export abattoir hides BMC investment in meat plant and tannery revival: 230 BWP million (2024), 2 figures (LIB-C-BW-HidesSkinsLeather)
Namibia Export abattoir hides Hides and processed leather exported: 1,098,964 kg (2025), 3 figures (LIB-C-NA-HidesSkinsLeather)

Apply it to your land

Choose a position in the chain: collection and curing or leather goods. Build the budget in T-M16-01 Enterprise Budget, calculate the margin from raw hide to cured hide or from leather to finished product in T-M16-02 Processing Margin, and compare prices in T-M16-03. Name the supply source and the buyer.

Dictionary terms introduced

Code Term Plain meaning
D-hide Hide The skin of a large animal such as a cow
D-skin Skin The skin of a small animal such as a sheep or goat
D-curing Curing Preserving raw hides with salt or drying before tanning
D-wet-blue Wet-blue Hides after the first stage of chrome tanning
D-tannery Tannery A plant that converts hides into leather

Calculators: T-M16-01 Enterprise Budget, T-M16-02 Processing Margin, T-M16-03 Market Price Comparator.

Library sources: LIB-A099, LIB-A100, LIB-A101; LIB-P-HidesSkinsLeather; LIB-C-ZW-HidesSkinsLeather, LIB-C-ZM-HidesSkinsLeather, LIB-C-BW-HidesSkinsLeather, LIB-C-NA-HidesSkinsLeather.