Technical Workshop on Good Practices for the Ethiopian Hides and Skin Industry

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 
4-7 December 2001

The Workshop on good practices for the Ethiopian hides and skins industry was organised by the Ethiopian tanners association. Participants came from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambie and Zimbabwe. Consultants came from Europe.

The Centre for the Development of Enterprise, CDE, carried out a series of successful initiatives for the leather sector in Eastern and Southern Africa. It provided PAC companies with technical assistance to increase the presence of local leather and leather articles on the world market. The sector also benefitted from more integrated programmes thanks to the industrial patnership meetings aimed to stimulate the interest of leather products companies.

Amongst the PAC countries, Ethiopia is a large producer of leather and  its potential for further development is huge. Agriculture accounts for 52% of GNP, 90% of total incomes in foreign currencies and 85% of employment. Stock breeding accounts for 30% of agricultural GNP. The Ethiopian stock is the largest in Africa: 30 millions bovines, 24 millions ovines and 18 millions caprines.  Therefore the leather sector of the main economic sectors in the country and the second source of foreign currencies after coffee. 

The objectives of the workshop were:

- better use of the abundant resources in hides and skins and supply facilities thanks to downstream treatment
- increased capacities in the leather sector
- improvement of productivity, quality and marketing capacities
- creation of jobs
- increase in currency revenues and agricultural incomes.

Presentations

The following speeches are available on paper only (fax/mail) from cotance @ euroleather.com

  • Good practices for the African leather industry in the context of global trade, Dr S.M.Kiruthu, leather industry consultant
  • Hides and skins defects, nature and effect on the industry, Mr K.Chekol
  • Raw hides and skins improvement in Ethiopia (status and challenges), Mr A.Mahmud
  • The control campaign against mange, lice and keds in sheep and goats in the Amhara regional state, Bureau of Agriculture
  • Marketing leather products on the Internet, Mr T.Kebede
  • Improved hide quality through ectoparasite control, Mr P.Hadley, BLC
  • Practical applications for the use of Membranes in tanneries, W.Scholz, W.Bowden and M.Lucas, BLC
  • Trends in standardization and certification of raw hides and skins and leather in Ethiopia, Mr J.Bekele
  • Tanners role in pollution prevention, Mr K.Amede
  • Company Profiles (19)