Hide and skin collection moves

Plans have been announced by the Addis Ababa City Administration Trade and Industry Development Bureau to construct 82 hide and skin collecting centres following repeated complaints from buyers and exporters of poor quality and damaged hides. This is according to department head, Girma Demissie, who said the birr1.4 million (US$165million) necessary had been mainly supplied by the USAID to launch construction.Girma said: 'Between 2-3 million hides and skins are collected in the metropolis annually and nearly half of the product is wasted due to loss of quality and untimely collection. Upon completion the centres would significantly contribute to solving the problem. 'Over the past six months, the department has gathered information from individual traders and abattoir operators on methods of upgrading the quality of local hides and skins and the department has already provided training for 60 individuals engaged in slaughtering animals at metropolitan abattoirs. Damaged and rejected hides are costing the country and primary producers millions of birr and this must be reduced.'