Trade Minister: Leather goods, footwear sector in Algeria, auguring promising future
By: Hana Saada
ALGIERS– The Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, Kamel Rezig, declared, this Thursday in Médéa, that the leather goods and footwear sector “has a strong potential which allows it to cover local demand and to move gradually towards external markets, particularly in Africa where real opportunities exist”.
“Recently, we have seen a clear change in the leather goods and footwear sector which has succeeded, in the space of a few months, in regaining market share at the national level, “underlined Mr. Rezig, during the closing of the national open doors on the marketing and export of leather goods and shoes, organized from February 21 to 23 in different provinces of the country.
“We are witnessing the emergence of industrial poles and clusters across many regions of the country, auguring a promising future for the entire sector,” noted the minister.
In view of the existing potential, the leather goods and footwear sector “is in a position to establish itself, within 3 to 4 years, on the national market and be present in force on the African continent and in other countries”, added Mr. Rezig.
More than 2000 shoe production companies
Formerly concentrated in a few wilayas, notably Médéa, Tlemcen and Blida, the leather goods and footwear industry has “developed rapidly”, thanks to the measures taken to support this sector, with the appearance of new industrial units in other regions, such as; Oran, Constantine, Setif and Tizi-Ouzou, the minister said.
This is a “strongly encouraging sign for the future of this sector called to contribute to the diversification of the national economy and the increase in foreign exchange earnings, thanks to the good quality of the Algerian product”, he stressed.
According to the figures communicated by Mr. Rezig, based on data from the National Trade Register Center (CNRC), this sector currently has 2,004 companies active in the field of industrial and artisanal production of shoes (712 legal persons and 1,292 natural persons) and 314 companies in the field of leather clothing production (224 legal persons and 90 natural persons).
However, the real number of operators in this field is close to 5,000, including manufacturers whose activity is not declared, Mr. Rezig highlighted at the opening of the national open doors on marketing and export of leather goods and shoes.
