Ethiopia has set a target to earn 359.3 million US dollars from the export of leather and textile in the coming year announced the Ministry of Industry.
It is expected that 206 million US dollars will be raised through the export of value added leather products according to Melaku Taye Corporate Communication Director at the Ministry.
Ethiopia obtained 166.3 million US dollars from leather and textile exports this year he said.Ethiopian leather and textiles are mainly exported to Germany, China, India, United Kingdom, the United States and Italy explained Melaku.
The Ethiopian Leather Technology Institute is engaged in preparing capacity building trainings for leather and textile factories said Melaku.
The institute is collaborating with Indian organizations to facilitate technology transfer and enhance its capacity he added.
It is to be remembered that a 150% tax was imposed on the export of semi-finished leather from Ethiopia as of this month according to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
The move is expected to encourage the export of finished leather and leather products.
The Ethiopian leather sector has developed the capacity to export finished leather products as of last year said Solomon Getu President of the Ethiopian Leather Industries Association.
The new tax was announced by a joint statement of the MoFED and the Leather Industry Development Institute.
Source Ethiopian News Agency
