Crocodile skin supplier Padenga to boost output

Harare

PADENGA Holdings Ltd, the world's largest supplier of Nile crocodile skins for luxury handbags and shoes, is seeking to boost profitability by feeding the aquatic reptiles a corn-rich diet and allowing them more space to grow.

The diet and larger pens will help the crocodiles grow faster and improve the quality of their hides, Oliver Kamundimu, Padenga's finance director, said in an interview last week in the Zimbabwe lakeside town of Kariba, where the company is based. The downside for the crocodiles is that they will be slaughtered after two-and-a-half years rather than three, he said.