Ethiopia’s sheepskin business under threat from mites
15/01/2013
"Two of our long time buyers in Europe have dropped us. Others refuse to receive our products sometimes, when the quality drops under the standard in our agreement," Getachew Shiferaw, head of marketing at Ethio Leather Industry, told AllAfrica.com.
He added that European buyers only want top quality leather, and so tanneries were planning to import the hides from elsewhere to meet demand.
Exports make up 90% of the sheep and goat skin market, while 10% of cattle skins are exported.
The Leather Industry Development Institute is working with the Ethiopian government to provide workshops on the treatment of skins and to improve the way the animals are kept to reduce the occurrence of mites, according to Mr Shiferaw.
Share this story:
