Hide and skin prices saw an increase of 25% in Ethiopia last month. The price of hide and skin normally lowered or remained the same during holiday seasons but that has not been the case this year said the Leather Industry Development Institute in Ethiopia.
The recent increase in prices is related to the rise in new tannery production and the growth of the leather industry according to officials with the Ethiopian Leather Industries Association.
It is difficult to ascertain if the current increases in prices are real or artificial due to the differences that exist in demand and supply in light of the competition between tanneries according to Abddissa Adugna Secretary General of ELIA.It is unlikely that price caps like those enacted in the past are unlikely to prove effective said Abddissa.
The ELIA is working with the LIDI and the Ministry of Industry to begin the import of leather from other African countries.
The Ethiopian Leather Development S.C is responsible for the import of leather as it supplies other industries according to Abddisa.The decision to import leather was made to solve the shortage of supplies for national tanneries.
The import of semi processed leather will reduce the production process for local tanneries and minimize the environmental impact of the processing according to sources at the institute.
It is expected that the import of semi processed leather will begin by the end of the third quarter of the Ethiopian fiscal year.
Source: Capital
