The livestock sector in Ethiopia supports both the agricultural income and the Gross Domestic Production of the country. It contributes about 13 percent of the annual export earnings. However, as Ethiopia has un-delimited long distance boarder with the neighboring countries, it loses a significant portion of the revenue due to illegal cross border trade.
Birhanu Gebremedhin is an agricultural economist who specializes in livestock and working as consultant for various none governmental organizations locally and internationally for the last three decades. As to him, despite its huge resources, the predominant traditional way of cattle rearing practice restricts the sector growth and to be remained subsistence.
At the household level, livestock plays crucial economic role in the lives of pastoralists, agro-pastorals and supports smallholder farmers in the high land parts of the country.
As the community is defined in a low-income brackets, the sector serves people to cope with severe situation induced by climate change and global warming. Traditionally, pastoralists in the peripheral regions are not reached by modern finance system hence, animals used as accumulated capital and movable property.
In time of hard ship, they exchanged the assets in to money with less optimal price to purchase other vital consumption products. The government convinced that, the live stalk sub sector plays critical role in the ongoing efforts in poverty alleviation and support the economy. Often its policy in this regard is harmonious through various dimension encouragements in terms of budget, regulation and institutional arrangement and marketing.
Among the bi-products of live stoke, hide and skin production is commonly practiced as an additional source of income and the leather industry sector is one of the growing economic sectors in Ethiopia. However, the sector is constrained by different issues like external parasites, inappropriate management of animal and faults during slaughtering, and improper handling of skin before reaching the tannery. As a result, the sector is losing a large amount of money due to the decline in quality and the fall in export price.
In the rural parts of the country where there is no modern abattoir, each house hold slaughter animals in the house yards and mainly the skins used as sleeping item. The absence of market which absorbs animal skin in the rural part also inhibits them to use it for their own or throw it away as irrelevant item. Therefore, resource that can be exported and can bring foreign currency to the nation is simply wasted.
According to the Ministry of Industry, 27 tanneries in Ethiopia produce all of hides and skins and finished leather for the domestic and export markets. These tanneries have an average daily soaking capacity of 107,850 pieces of sheepskin, 51,550 pieces of goatskin, and 9,800 pieces of hide. The annual capacity reaches approximately 48 million (32.4 million sheep and 15.5 million goat) skins and 2.9 million hides.
However, the importance and uses of hide and skin production in the context of smallholder farmers were multidirectional. Data from the three districts, which are (Gambella Zura, Godare and Lare), had shown that hide and skin are primarily used for income generation and secondarily used for bedding purpose in all districts.
Ethiopian small ruminant skins, especially sheepskins, traditionally have a very good reputation for quality in the world leather market due to their fine types and compact structure. According to the Statistics Authority report, the existing 27 tanneries in Ethiopia produce all forms of hides and skins and finished leather for the domestic and export markets with average daily soaking capacity of 107,850 pieces of sheepskin, 51,550 pieces of goatskin, and 9,800 pieces of hide.
Meanwhile, the annual capacity reaches approximately 48 million (32.4 million sheep and 15.5 million goat) skins and 2.9 million hides in the year 2024 GC. However, the capacity to process hides and skins greatly exceeds domestic supply, particularly for raw sheep and goatskins. Although Ethiopia has very good potential to produce substantial quantities of hide and skins, the quality of hide or skin is to a large extent related to the way attitude of the community with regard to the value of skin and hide.
In this regard, the leather industry sector is losing large amounts of money due to the decline in quality and the fall in export price. It is estimated that about one quarter to one-third of all the skins processed at tanneries are unsuitable for export due to various defects. Some reports indicated that the major problem affecting the leather and especially the tanning industry is related to skin diseases, scratches, scabs, and branding, poor pattern, flay cuts, putrefactions, and poor substances.
Based on annual off take rates of 7% for cattle, 33% for sheep, and 35% for goats, the production stood at 3.78 million cattle hides, 8.41 million sheepskins, and 8.42 million goatskins in 2023/2024. The 7% off take rate for cattle falls significantly below the African average of 12.71% and the world average of 20.31%. However, the off take for sheep ranks slightly below the average level in Africa and the off take for goatskin ranks slightly higher than the African average, although both remain well below the world average.
The percentage of skins having defects, which end up downgrading the quality, has increased tremendously in Ethiopia. Skin quality is primarily defined by the absence of damage to the grain layer of the skin.
Tanneries categorize only 10–15% of the harvested skins qualify for top grades, with the rest being downgraded and sometimes even rejected. The quality of finished leather is related to a number of surface and structural defects that the hide and skin acquire in the life of the animal, during slaughtering, storage, and transportation stages. The causes of defects on raw hide and skin can be broadly classified as pre-slaughter and post-slaughter defect causes.
Recently the senior researcher at the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research (EAIR) said that ensuring well organized marketing system and establishing proper network among stakeholders in hides and skins value chain are instrumental in enhancing its contribution to the country’s economy.
Presenting a paper titled Hides and Skins (HSs) Production and Market: Status, Challenges and Prospects in Ethiopia at a workshop organized by the agricultural research institute, EIAR Senior Researcher Rehima Musema said Ethiopia has abundant livestock resources and unique features of hides and skins. However as to her, there are outstanding challenges that need to be solved urgently.
Pre-slaughter and pre-slaughter defects, post-slaughter flaws, shortage of chemical, limited support for the sector, inadequate network of stakeholders in hides and skins value chain, among others, were raised as challenges to the sector.
Also, lack of proper platform to integrate all pertinent stakeholders in hides and skins value chain starting from farmers and pastoralists to the market system has been a critical challenge in the sector.
The senior researcher further noted that solving quality problems, ensuring well organized marketing system and institutional support are very important to enhance the inclusive contribution of hides and skins to the country’s economy.
Moreover, Rehima stressed the need for revising the hides and skins and leather and leather products policies. The senior researcher finally urged all stakeholders to contribute their respective responsibility to properly exploit the country’s abundant resources in the sector and increase its share in the economy.
Ethiopia has abundant livestock resources and is ranked first in Africa and fifth globally in terms of livestock population.
BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 27 MAY 2025
