Crocodile skins

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MASA), through the National Veterinary Directorate (DNAV), is promoting the proper treatment of goat, cow and crocodile skins as a source of foreign exchange revenue for the country.The DNAV initiative springs from the growing demand for skins overseas, especially South Africa, the European Union, Hong Kong, China and Namibia, markets that demand that this product is handled properly and tanned to high quality.The newspaper Domingo reports that from 2014 to 2016, the country earned about US$ million US exporting skins, US$763,000 resulted from crocodile skin alone.Data cited by the weekly indicate that during this two-year period, about 11,000 crocodile skins were exported to six countries, including Spain, Italy and Portugal, and that the largest amount was exported to South Africa, followed by Japan and South Korea.To maximize exports, the DNAV is supporting the establishment of a Mozambican tannery industry and mobilizing national public and private entities towards entry in the Trade System Control and Export System (TRACES) which regulates the business internationally. 

As Domimgo reports, one of the prospective exporters of skin is the Maputo Municipal Abattoir which was recently registered in the TRACES system.Nationally, information on skin processing techniques is being disseminated to farmers and allied trades.As part of export promotion, preparations are underway for the construction of a tannery in Maputo which will initially produce an added-value leather tanned with chromium sulphate and other salts that give it a bluish colour.Currently, South Africa is the biggest buyer, with about 672,000 tons of imports in the last three years, although the European Union market offers the best prices among the other competitors.The goat skin is exported only to South Africa and was worth more than US$388,000 US dollars between 2014 and 2015.A first batch of 3,000 skins from the southern provinces of Maputo and Gaza has been exported to Portugal, with skins selling at US$15 per unit, and a ton worth US$500.