The leather industry is a strategic sub sector for Kenya as outlined in Vision 2030 and the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda 2022-2027, aimed at boosting manufacturing and export competitiveness. Through the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act No. 29 of 2016, the government introduced an export levy on raw hides and skins to support value addition, local manufacturing, and export competitiveness of leather and leather products. This study assesses the impact of export levies on the competitiveness of leather products. Using data from the World Integrated Trade Solution and International Trade Center databases, the study focuses on raw hides, skins, leather articles, and footwear falling under HS codes 41, 42, and 64, across three distinct export levy regimes of 20 per cent, 40 per cent, and 80 per cent.
The specific objectives of the study are:
- To ssess the export competitiveness of various categories of leather products (Raw hides and skins, Articles of leather, and Footwear)
- To establish the impact of export levies across all the export levies regimes of 20 per cent, 40 per cent, and 80 per cent
