Two Indian leather development institutions said they were determined to make Ethiopia one of the top 10 countries in the world in shoe and leather manufacturing in three to five years.

Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI), Indian government institutions, are going to work with the Ethiopian Leather Industry Development Institute (ELIDI).

The Indian institutions said they would transfer technology and help accelerate the growth of earnings from Ethiopia's leather and leather products export.

Ethiopia stands top of Africa with 50 million cattle, 25 million sheep and 23 million goat populations. But the country has not been earning much from the leather and leather products sector.

The ELIDI had said late in August that Ethiopia earned over 104.1 million dollars from the export of leather, 73 percent less than its target of 180.4 million dollars for the last fiscal year.

The exports revenue came from 43 leather and leather products factories which include 22 tanneries, 15 leather footwear firms, and six leather enterprises, which exported their products to the United States and countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Ethiopia is planning to export 206 million dollars worth of leather products in the current fiscal year. That is almost double the income the country received last year, when it made 104.1 million dollars from leather.

The ELIDI is planning to make 54,000 pairs of shoes a day, up by 35,000 pairs than its current production.

Source: The Economic Times