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Ethiopia loses 14 million U.S. dollars annually on average as a result of hecto-parasite, an animal disease, which reduces highly the quality of skins, according to the country's leather industry.

Abdisa Adugna, general secretary of the Ethiopian Leather, Shoes and Leather Products Manufacturing Association, told journalists on Sunday that his association has launched a campaign directed at preventing and controlling the disease in areas where it is widely spread.

The disease, which is known locally as "Ekek," attacks mainly sheep and goat population, spoiling their skins adversely and affecting the leather industry over the last one decade, Abdisa said.

He said hecto-parasite, for instance, has reduced the possibility of obtaining the best grade sheep and goat skins in local market from 70-80 percent 16 years ago to less than 30 percent now.

Abdisa said a pilot project, aimed treating "Ekek"-infected sheep either with a drug called Diazone or shearing, was launched in Menz-Gera-Keya Woreda, North Showa Zone of the northern Amhara state since 2003.

The prevention activity is being run with 40,000 euros (48,944 dollars) secured from a Belgium-based organization, called the Center for Development of Enterprise, Abdisa said.

The association has also launched similar project in Labo-mama Woreda in North Shewa Zone of Amhara state with 39,000 dollars secured from USAID recently, Abdisa said.

Leather is a vital industry to Ethiopia, with its products sold to Italy, Britain and, increasingly, China, second only in earnings to the country's main export, coffee. it has the potential to overtake it and become a serious source of much- needed revenue.

Source: Xinhua