Determinants of South Africa's exports of leather products

Abstract

This article analyses the determinants of South African exports of raw hides and skins (other than fur skins) and leather (H41) using annual data covering the period 1999 to 2008 for 32 main trading partners. The results show that the importer’s gross domestic product (GDP), South Africa’s GDP, the importer’s infrastructure, the real effective exchange rate and some regional trade agreements are the main determinants of raw hides and skins (other than fur skins) and leather exports. The article then investigates if there is unexploited trade potential. The investigation reveals that among the sample countries – namely; Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US) have unexploited export potential. It is important from a policy perspective to focus on the unexploited trade potential (in the above-mentioned trading partners) to accelerate growth and alleviate poverty in South Africa.