Without cattle leather production limited
The leather produced in Thailand, found in bags, shoes & fashion items is limited by small number of cattle & animal hides produced in Thailand.
The leather produced in Thailand, found in bags, shoes & fashion items is limited by small number of cattle & animal hides produced in Thailand.
Photo above at a leather industry trade fair in China. Photo below of an animal hide.
Click button to listen to No Animal Hides, No Leather to download
Economics: Hide and seek by Somporn Thapanachai
Leather tanning is an "invisible industry" in the sense that people usually see only the finished goods, be they bags, shoes, car seats, decorative items or even dog chews.
Pranee Kuruvelukorn (second from right), president of the Thai Tanning Industry Association, displays her group’s products at the All China Leather Exhibition in Shanghai early last month, where TTIA members recorded 30 million baht in orders.
But before it becomes a leather product, an animal hide must pass through 20 steps, from curing to removing fat and flesh and tanning. Tanneries can complete the entire process in 10 days.
The industry generated 17.3 billion baht of revenue for the country last year and provides jobs to 30,000 workers. Players comprise 120 tanneries located in two special industrial estates in Samut Prakan's Bang Pu district, with combined space of 700 rai.
The tanning industry was pushed out of Bangkok's Klong Toey district several decades ago and grouped together in the present area due partly to the nature of the work, which emits foul odours and polluted wastewater.
Mrs Pranee notes only 30% of the hides used are acquired locally.
The Thai Tanning Industry Association (TTIA) plays a major role in managing the industry's central wastewater treatment facilities in both estates as well as joint raw material and chemical purchasing schemes.
President Pranee Kuruvelukorn said that over the past decade, the industry has been able to acquire only 30% of hides locally due to diminishing numbers of cattle being raised in the country. Hides are imported mainly from the US, Australia and New Zealand.
This hide shortage has grown progressively worse over time but especially so in recent years, with farmers having to sell their live cattle to buyers in neighbouring countries for higher prices, thereby saving themselves the trouble of slaughtering.
"With much of the slaughtering not being done in Thailand, we don't have those hides, plus our people have to eat more expensive meat," said Ms Pranee.
The TTIA is urging the government to promote cattle farming in order to provide higher-quality meat to consumers and hides to the tanning industry.
Ms Pranee said cattle are an economic asset that should be touted as adding value to all livestock-related industries, from food to tanning and leather goods.
Local slaughterhouses should be upgraded to international standards and farmers taught how to provide better-quality hides, she said.
As well, she said, livestock farmers should consider potential earnings from selling salted hides to tanneries. The price of domestic hides has risen by 60% from last year, less than the doubling in the price of imported hides.
One head of cattle can provide 12-20 kilogrammes of sellable hide and a buffalo 20-30 kg.
The local tanning industry recovered somewhat last year after plunging in 2009 due to the global economic crisis. In the first seven months of this year, Thailand shipped 10.7 billion baht worth of tanned leather, up by 6.21% year-on-year, with Hong Kong, Vietnam and China the top three markets.
The industry expects to 8-9% growth for the full year.
Ms Pranee said China has the biggest potential for growth, based on its participation at the All China Leather Exhibition in Shanghai early last month, where TTIA members recorded 30 million baht in orders.
However, next year's exports are difficult to predict due to uncertainty over hide availability, although the value may rise in line with a continued upward trend in the price of hides, she added.
Pongthep Mungkalee of Kasetsart University's Center for Applied Economics Research said one strength of the local leather industry is it can accept small orders to match demand by the rapidly changing fashion industry.
Ms Pranee believes the government's planned increase in the daily minimum wage to 300 baht will prove a major obstacle to small and medium-sized tanneries that make up most of the local industry.
"Unskilled labour should receive a rate that reflects their ability. It takes time for workers to acquire the skill level required for this industry," she said.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Economics, Hide and seek, Leather has enormous growth potential, but tanners increasingly have to source their hides from overseas, Somporn Thapanachai, 6/10/2011, link)
Leather Industry Vocabulary
leather - a durable and flexible material, used to produce bags, clothing and other fashionable items, created by "tanning animal hides" mostly from cattle (See Wikipedia)
animal hide - "an animal skin treated for human use. Hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, alligator skins, snake skins for shoes and fashion accessories and furs from wild cats, mink and bears. In some areas, leather is produced on a domestic or small industrial scale, but most leather making is done on a large scale. Various tannins are used for this purpose. Leather from processed hides has a variety of uses, including shoes, clothing, horse tack, horse harness, upholstery and even wall or other surface coverings" (See Wikipedia)
hide - same as "animal hide"
leather tanning - the process of making leather from the hides in a proces using the highly acidic chemical "tannin" (See Wikipedia)
tannery - a factory where these skins are processed using "tanning" to produce "leather"
tanners - companies that produce leather in "tannery" factories
curing - "preparing hides begins by curing them with salt. Curing is employed to prevent putrefaction of the protein substance (collagen) from bacterial growth during the time lag that might occur from procuring the hide to when it is processed. Curing removes excess water from the hides and skins using a difference in osmotic pressure. The moisture content of hides and skins gets greatly reduced. In wet-salting, the hides are heavily salted, then pressed into packs for about 30 days. In brine-curing the hides are agitated in a salt water bath for about 16 hours. Generally speaking, curing substantially reduces the chance of spoilage by bacteria. Curing can also be done by preserving the hides and skins at a very low temperature. In a process known as soaking, the hides are then soaked in clean water to remove the salt and increase the moisture so that the hide or skin can be further treated" (See Wikipedia)
salted hides - the "curing" of animal hides with salt to produce leather (see "curing" above)
trade fair - an event organized for companies in an industry to show and demonstrate their latest products and services, as well as study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities, also called a trade show, trade exhibition or expo (See Wikipedia)
hide and seek - a game played by children, in which one child hides and the others look for him and try to find him (this is a play on words, Thailand's is described as an "invisible industry" in the article (See Wikipedia)
source - find goods at the right price and quality to buy at a future date
source hides from overseas - look for goods produced by foreign companies to buy
enormous - very large มหาศาล ที่ใหญ่โตมโหฬาร
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
enormous growth potential - could grow a lot in the future
biggest potential for growth - the thing that could grow the most
intermediate goods - a good that is used to produce other goods, a good that is used as a part or as raw materials in another good, here: hides are used as an "intermediate good" to produce leather clothing, bags, etc which are the "finished goods"
finished goods - the final good produced that is sold to consumers in stores
decorative items - things that can be used to "decorate" a home or office and make it look nice
dog chews - hard leather objects that are like a bone but safer for dogs to chew in order to make strong teeth (See Wikipedia)
invisible - unable to be seen มองไม่เห็น
invisible industry - an industry that people really don't see and hear a lot about (in the media, etc) so they do not know about it
in the sense that ... - meaning that ...
orders - companies asking a company to produce goods for them (to be delivered at a future date)
process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
generated - created
revenue - income from taxes or business activities รายได้
comprise - to consist or be made up of two or more things ประกอบด้วย
players - the companies in an industry
players comprise 120 tanneries - there are 120 companies (tanneries) in the leather industry
decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรษ, ระยะเวลา 10 ปี
decades - periods of ten years เป็นสิบๆปี
over the past decade - during the past 10 years
nature - the basic quality of feature of something ลักษณะที่แท้จริงของสิ่งต่างๆ, ธรรมชาติ
nature of the work - the basic quality of the work
foul - extremely unpleasant น่ารังเกียจ
emits foul odours - bad smells come out of it
polluted wastewater - water that has dangerous chemicals in it after being used in some industrial process (such as tanning leather)
wastewater treatment - industrial wastewater treatment, the mechanisms and processes used to treat waters that have been contaminated in some way by industrial or commercial activities prior to its release into the environment or re-use (See Wikipedia)
facilities - the buildings, equipment and services provided for a particular purpose สิ่งอำนวยความสะดวก
wastewater treatment facilities - the actual machines buildings, pools, etc used to treat industrial watewater
acquired - bought
acquired locally - bought in this country (here: Thailand)
only 30% of the hides used are acquired locally - only 30% of the animal hides come from Thailand
role - the purpose, function or influence of someone or something in a particular situation; function or job บทบาท
plays a major role - is an important part of this thing
joint - done together; belonging to or shared between two or more people ความร่วมมือกัน
raw materials - materials in their natural state before being processed or used in manufacturing
schemes - systems for achieving some goal
joint raw material and chemical purchasing schemes
acquire - to get; to obtain ได้มาซึ่ง
been able to acquire only 30% of hides locally - only able to get 30% of the animal hides in this country
cattle - cows (female) and bulls (male)
diminishing numbers of cattle being raised in the country - every year fewer cattle produced in Thailand
shortage - when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
shortage has grown progressively worse over time - shortage growing worse over time
slaughterhouse - a factory for killing animals so they can be used as food by humans
slaughter - kill an animal
saving themselves the trouble of slaughtering - have another person kill the animal, so they don't have to kill the animal
urging the government to promote cattle farming - asking the government to provide rewards and incentives to farmers so that they will raise more cattle
consumers - people who buy things or services
asset - something owned by a person, company etc., particularly money and property ทรัพย์สิน
economic asset - something that is valuable for the whole economy, the whole country
livestock - animals such as cows, cattle, and sheep that are raised for commercial products such as meat, skins, or wool (See Wikipedia) ปศุสัตว์
tout X as Y - X is advertised (promoted, marketed) as being Y
touted as adding value to all livestock-related industries
standards - an acceptable level of quality or achievement มาตรฐาน
upgraded to international standards
domestic - within the country ภายในประเทศ
domestic hides - animal hides produced inside the country
recovered - became fit and healthy again ฟื้นฟูร่างกาย
plunging - fall quickly by a large amount (ราคา) ร่วงหรือตกลงอย่างมาก
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤต
participation - being involved in an activity (rather than merely watching it happen)
participation at the All China Leather Exhibition
predict - to say that an event or action will happen in the future, especially as a result of knowledge or experience คาดการณ์ว่า พยากรณ์จากสถิติว่า
difficult to predict -
next year's exports are difficult to predict
availability - they exist and people can use them
hide availability - being able to get animal hides (at a reasonable price)
uncertainty over hide availability - don't know whether they will be able to buy animal hides (at a reasonable price)
trend - a gradual change or development that produces a particular result ทิศทาง แนวโน้ม
upward trend in the price of hides - the price of animal hides has been going up over a long period of time (trend)
continued upward trend - the trend has "continued" for a long time
X in line with Y - X following Y (moving in a way that agrees with Y and is determined by Y)
the value may rise in line with a continued upward trend in the price of hides
match - to look the same as or very similar to something else ซึ่งไม่คู่ควร
demand - the need and desire to buy goods and services by households and businesses
wage - an amount of money that you earn for working, usually according to how many hours or days you work each week or month ค่าจ้าง
obstacle - 1. a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something อุปสรรค ขวากหนาม 2. an object that you must move or go around in order to move forward อุปสรรค, สิ่งกีดขวาง
will prove a major obstacle - will be a big problem for achieving goals and moving forward
will prove a major obstacle to small and medium-sized tanneries