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The World´s Leather Industry has been around a long while. This industry on average produces about 18 billion square feet of leather a year, and the total value of this is estimated at about $40 billion. If the by-product of the meat industry, raw hides and skins, was not used to produce this quantity of leather, then, for example, shoes and upholstery would be manufactured from alternative,non-renewable raw materials such as plastics and other petrochemical based products. Developing countries now produce over 60 percent of the world´s leather, & this proportion is growing. About 65 percent of the world production of leather is estimated to go into leather footwear and the global production of footwear is estimated at around 11 billion pairs. Hence, governments of developing countries are giving due attention for the development of proper raw hides and skins marketing practices and channels.

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Mr. Haftu Haile Gebremichael, Lecturer at Mekelle University,Ethiopia, was born in 1984 in Maichew town. He obained his Bachelor´s degree from Jimma University Ambo College in Cooperatives (Business Management). He also acquired his Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA)from Mekelle University.

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