Our recent report on the Sudanese leather industry was designed to give readers some background on this African nation that is rich in livestock and has several tanneries that are capable of supplying semi-finished raw material to tanners in China, for example, to turn into finished leather for shoes and leather goods. 

At APLF Leather, there will be five companies participating under the national flag of Sudan. They are: 

African Leather Factory, Al Amatong Tannery, Robatan Tannery, Suliman Tannery and Hyderco Enterprise for Import & Export. 


African Leather Factory 

Based in the country’s capital of Khartoum, African Leather Factory is a tannery which started production in 2003. It is located in two parts – Khartoum North and Omdurman where a new finishing department is under construction. 

This tannery produces hides and goat as pickled and has an installed capacity of 8 tons of fresh green hides and 2000 goat skins per day. The total number of employees is 20 and the company has an annual turnover of approximately US$1 million. 

Cooperation Sought: The tannery is fully export oriented and is looking for joint venture or sub-contracts to supply semi processed hides and skins. The tannery also needs to secure it supply of imported chemicals. The next step in the company’s development plan is to produce crust/ finished leather and leather shoes for regular market. 


Al Amatong Tannery

The Al Amatong Tannery was established in 1959 in Alghaba Khartoum and currently employs over 100 people. Its main product line is wet blue and it boasts an annual turnover of US$1 – US$2 million.

The company tans cattle hides that range from 10 – 22 sq ft; wet blue goat skins and sheep skins with an average area of 70 – 75 sq ft and larger, lower grade sizes ranging from 65 – 85 sq ft.


Robatan Tannery

The tannery processes cow hides, sheep and goat skins and has a production capacity of 500 cow hides or 5000 goat or 4000 sheep skins.

Robatan Tannery employs 35 personnel and tannery operatives at present and the product it processes for export is wet blue.

Its main export markets are China, India, Italy and Turkey. 

This first participation at APLF Leather is to promote the tannery’s product, to find new market and to follow up on technological developments. 


Suliman Tannery 

Located in Omdurman and founded in 1997, Suliman Tannery has an annual turnover of approximately US$ 1 million. There are 25 employees and it produces various types of semi -finished leather and wet blue for finishing and each category yields around 12 container loads per year. 

The tannery produces: 

Pickled sheep and lamb skins suitable for footwear, garments and suede 

Pickled goat and kid skins suitable for shoe uppers, linings, suede and veg tanning 

Pickled bovine, equine and buffalo used for military and army boots 

Wet blue bovine, equine and buffalo suitable for shoes and military boots 

Wet blue sheep and lamb suitable for footwear, garments and suede 

Wet blue goat and kid skins suitable for shoe uppers, linings, suede and veg tanning


Hyderco Enterprise for Import & Export 

Located in the industrial zone of Omdurman, Hyderco specialises in wet and dry salted hides. The company has 15 employees, was founded in 2013 and is completely export oriented. 

The main export destinations for its products are Turkey, Syria, Egypt and China. 

The company is seeking partnership or joint ventures and marketing partners to promote business to new markets and will attend more fairs to make such contacts. 

The source of the hides is bovine, equine and buffalo and are obtained directly from local slaughterhouses. 

The company produces one twenty foot container per month of wet salted hides and one thirty foot container of dry salted per month. Process vary according to the market but are around USD850 per ton and USD1300 per ton respectively. 

The Sudanese tanneries can be visited during APLF Leather (14 – 16 March 2018) in Hall 1.