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Exports from finished leather goods plunged 72% from three years ago | 15 leather manufacturers closed shops
No less than 15 leather manufacturers have closed shops in Ethiopia. The list is long but includes Hafede, Walya, Debre Birhan, Mersa, Sheba and Kombolcha tanneries. Their woeful absence from the market in supplying finished leather to international markets and local manufacturers directly bears the dismal export figures in the official statistics. Exports from finished leather goods plunged 72pc last year from three years ago. Only eight finished leather manufacturers, including ELICO, accounted for 89pc of last year's export earnings, shipping 22.7 million dollars worth of leather products.