Aba made shoes, other leather products to wear special tags

Shoes and other leather products made in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, would soon wear special tags for identification, which will help government and other stakeholders get accurate data on the sector, as well as stop unofficial exports from the  cluster

Ken Anyanwu, national secretary, Association of Leather and Allied Industrialists of Nigeria (ALAIN) an umbrella body of shoe, belt and bag manufacturers, made this known to BusinessDay, after the dotted lines for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) were signed with RFID centre, Abuja to develop the leather sector in the country, saying the tags were ready and would be introduced as soon as discussions with sponsors were concluded.

“This development was necessitated, due to unofficial export that goes on in the sector, as it has been difficult for policy makers to get accurate data to develop the sector and this is one of the issues, the RFID enabled technology, would help solve.

Anyanwu, further explained that RFID, would design and develop a management technology system that would provide transparency and accountability in the leather sector.

He revealed also that Nigerians need an average of 320 million pairs of shoes per annum, but regretted that there is no data to show what quantity of that number is imported, what quantity is produced locally, the country’s present production capacity and how to increase local production with a view to create wealth and job opportunities in the sector, noting that the RFID enabled system, would provide answers to these gaps as well as address the quality and investment issues in the sector.

Source: BusinessDay