English
FrançaisComplaint
- Complaint number
- NTB-001-400
- NTB Type
- 4. Sanitary & phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures
- NTM Code
- A9: SPS measures n.e.s.
- Complaint
- Following the FMD outbreak in Namibia, Veterinary Public Notification No. 15 of 2026, announced the “Suspension of imports, exports and in-transit of all cloven-hoofed animals and their raw products.” Despite this notification specifically referring to raw products, Namibian exporters of fully tanned&processed leather are currently prohibited from exporting unless they provide written confirmation from the competent authorities of each importing country that finished leather from Namibia remains permissible. This restriction has already caused economic losses for Namibian leather exporters, resulting in short-time arrangements, layoffs and an increasing risk of permanently losing established international customers to alternative suppliers. Unless resolved urgently, the continued disruption threatens to cause irreversible damage to the Namibian leather industry, undermining years of market development, export competitiveness and employment. Although Section 13(7) of the Animal Health Act provides that a veterinary health certificate is not required where the competent authority of the importing country does not require one, subject to the exporter providing written proof thereof, a more fundamental question remains: On what legal basis is finished leather subjected to vet. export controls intended for animal products particularly when the importing country itself does not impose equivalent veterinary requirements? The responsibility for obtaining these government-to-government confirmations has effectively been placed on the private sector, requiring the Namibian leather industry to approach the authorities of every country to which it exports. On what legal basis is fully tanned and chemically processed leather being classified as a "raw product" under the current FMD restrictions, particularly when it has undergone extensive industrial processing and is fundamentally distinct from untreated hides and skins?
- Progress update note
-
- Policy or regulatory NTB
- No
- Location
- Namibia: all borders (Other)
- Reporting Country or Region
- Namibia
- Country specific trade issue
- No
- Date of incident
- 2026-09-25
- Status
- New
- Product Description
-
Fully processed leather is an industrial intermediate and finished material created by chemically stabilizing and mechanically refining raw animal hides.
- Total value
- N$18 000 000.00
- Date reported
- 2026-09-29 09:42
- Modified
- 2026-09-29 09:42
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