Opportunities in the South African Market for the Manufacture of Tents, Tarpaulins, Sails and Other Canvas Goods News provided by Share this article Share this article ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The manufacture of tents, tarpaulins, sails and other canvas goods is a secondary subsector of the clothing, textiles, leather and footwear sector. Relative to other manufacturing industries in this broader sector, tents, tarpaulins, sales and canvas goods manufacturing is not acutely threatened by cheap imports. In fact, South African companies dominate the South and Southern African market. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a surge in demand for camping tents for temporary shelters for the homeless. There has also been a rise in demand for humanitarian disaster relief tents. Companies who usually manufacture event tents and semi-permanent tented structures are quickly shifting production to meet the health system's needs.