Wet Blue Industries to supply 15 000 hides monthly

BULAWAYO-BASED tannery Wet Blue Industries is currently locked in discussions with Cold Storage Company (CSC) in which it is expected to get a supply of over 15 000 hides monthly, NewsDay has learnt.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

Wet Blue, once the biggest tannery in Bulawayo, was placed under provisional judicial management in September 2014 after its business went down following CSC’s demise.

The company needs a $650 000 capital injection for retooling and working capital.

However, according to a source, CSC, which has been struggling for a long time, has found the “new market and got supplies”.

Wet Blue judicial manager Chrispen Mwete said the company was locked in discussions with CSC aiming to clinch a deal in which CSC would be supplying Wet Blue with hides.

“We are in discussions with CSC, whereby CSC would be supplying us (Wet Blue Industries) with hides. The deliberations are still going on. The deal would entail, for example, if they slaughter 20 000 cattle then it means we have got 20 000 hides to process, which is a very good deal,” he said.

In 2014, Wet Blue Industries clinched a deal with a subsidiary of the Grills group of companies, Bulawayo Abattoirs, under which the latter would supply 4 000 hides a month.

The tannery was one of the biggest in Zimbabwe, processing between 18 and 25 tonnes of leather a month for export, on behalf of CSC which was the country’s biggest abattoir.

But the State-owned meat processor is saddled with a $22 million debt and owes workers $2,1 million in outstanding salaries. It requires $50 million to revive operations.

It resumed operations in October last year after shareholders injected capital.

In 2014, government — through the ministry of Finance — banned all raw hide exports, a move described by players in the taxidermy industry as retrogressive.