Egypt will host the new Pan African Leather Fair next year, an event organisers claim will help open up the African and Middle Eastern leather markets to the entire value chain.
The new show brings together the expertise of the team behind the Asia Pacific Leather Fair Ltd (APLF) in Hong Kong, coupled with the local knowledge of Informa, the largest event organiser in Egypt – and will be held in Cairo on 19-21 June 2020.
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“Egypt is the key industrial hub for the MEA region. Its geographic position between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as its advanced transport infrastructure, makes it a natural selection for an event in the region,” says Perrine Ardouin, APLF director.
The country is forecast by financial services company Standard Chartered to become the seventh largest global economy by 2030, Ardouin adds, noting Cairo’s new Robikki Leather City complex is set to become the sector’s leading cluster.
The purpose-built industrial zone sees the city’s leather industry moving away from its traditional city centre location to a site which houses the entire leather supply chain.
Yasser El-Maghraby, advisor to the Minister of Trade and Industry of Egypt, and chairman of Cairo for Investment and Development, the organising body behind Robbiki Leather City, says Robbiki has a total annual tanned leather production of 222 million sq ft per annum, with output expected to rise by 40% year-on-year for the foreseeable future.
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By GlobalData“Robikki will cover the whole value chain, from raw hides to finished products. This new facility is revolutionising leather production in Egypt and across the MEA region, offering opportunities for international companies to sell their products and invest in Egypt.”
According to the re:source by just-style strategic sourcing tool, Egypt has a moderate-sized garment industry, and although there are some large manufacturers, the local industry is comprised of primarily small companies. Even so, the garment industry employs about 10% of Egypt’s working population, with the textile and apparel industries contributing 30% of industrial production and 10% of total exports.
