Hides and Skins

Small ruminants are an integral part of traditional crop-livestock production systems. In some regions there is a strong consumer preference for sheep and goat meat. Important by-products from this are hides and skins. In some cases the hides, skins and wool or hair are valuable products in their own right. Unlike other non-food commodities, hides and skins are only available post-slaughter.

References and Further Reading

Hides and skins are by-products of meat production. They are produced jointly with meat and possibly milk, but generally account for less than 5 percent of the value of the animal. Although leather, from the hides of large ruminants and used mainly for shoe making, is the most important component of world trade in hides and skins, those of small-stock may also be of value. Sheep skins are often traded with wool attached, including the special case of karakul pelts, also known as "Astrakhan", while goat fibres, such as mohair and cashmere are highly valued (Kerven, Russel & Laker 2002). Goat skins and pig skins provide delicate leathers, while rabbit skins are also of value (Owen, Morgan and Barlow 1977).

There is very little processing of hides and skins from home-slaughtered animals, other than karakul pelts. The necessary salt is not always available and the returns may be insufficient to justify the cost. Tanneries are usually associated with large-scale abattoirs, and livestock producers are not directly involved in the associated transactions. The skins go from the abattoir to the tannery and payments are made to the abattoir and/or intermediaries. Economies of scale mean that, in developed countries, there are now very few tanning factories, and hides and skins may therefore travel large distances. Further processing into bags, gloves and other items of clothing may occur as a craft industry, but workshops are generally located in urban areas rather than in the villages, and are not normally related to the livestock production itself. In some countries, such as India, Pakistan, Argentina and Brazil, industrial type and scale leather industries have developed. However, most hides and skins are marketed and exported as a preserved raw material or as a pre-tanned semi-finished product (Schroer 1994).

Careless flaying of the carcass can result in damage to the animal skin, as can accidents and external parasites while the animal is alive. Yet quality of hides and skins is of vital importance in order to benefit from market opportunities. Quality not only affects the market price, and the export price, of the raw materials but also affects the value added from processing (Hanke & Peters 1994).

Pastoralists are usually more concerned about animal survival than the quality of hides, so these are often of limited market value. Enterprises requiring quality skins very often prefer to work with specialized sedentary producers. For example, the Sokoto Red goats of the Sahel used to produce morocco bindings are never drawn from pastoral herds. In West Africa, however, there is a substantial market in hides, to the extent that leather for use in making shoes has to be imported (Blench, 2000).