Trade in leather and leather products has progressively increased at the global arena. This\ngrowth has had much impact in the developing world mostly as the leather sector moved to\nAsia and projected to translate to Africa. Thus, the need to scrutinize the preparedness of the\ncontinent through the member-states is crucial. Therefore, the study attempted to analyse the\ntrading regime of the leather value chain strata. A quantitative approach (n=244), descriptive\nanalysis including an aggregate score to ascertain the top activities impacting on trade regime\nin Kenya was carried out. The results were varied depending on the individual stratums\nwhere the lower strata of the chain (producers, butchers and traders) were found to\nconcentrate mostly in domestic trade. The upper value chains strata were differently impacted\nwith tanners active on domestic (raw material sourcing) and export (for the semi-processed\nleather) trade. In retrospect, Leathergoods and Footwear were engaged with domestic trade\nbut had challenges on massive second hand and poor quality leather related imports. These\nimports at most affected their competitiveness and productivity denying the both the stratums\naccruable potential available in the country�s leather sector. The overall results indicated that\ntrade activities were significant (p<0.05) to the value chain stratum. This result was important\nas appropriate interventional measures would therefore go a long way in optimizing on trade\nrelated benefits to the socio-economic dimension of the country such as employment, wealth\ncreation and rural development.
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