The massive consumption of cattle skin, commonly called ‘pomo’ or ‘kanda,’ in the country has been proven to be destroying the hides and skin industry where Nigeria earns at least $3 billion annually in foreign exchange.

At the time being, Nigeria’s hides and skin production, mainly undertaken in Kano State, is said to be the largest in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region, with a total population of over 245 million people and an economic growth of 6 percent – 7 percent annually.

This was revealed last Friday by Adeniyi Agunbiade, a professor of animal nutrition and feed technology, and is also the vice chancellor of McPherson University, Seriki-Sotayo, Ogun State, a tertiary institution owned by the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria.

Agunbiade specifically said that Nigeria, although was able to earn $3 billion from sale and export of hides and skins, but the country was miles away from playing deep in the huge global market of hides and skins worth over $72 billion.

He said an expected expansion in the country’s leather industry would depend largely on the recovery of hides and skins of the farming stock, much of which is currently being consumed nationwide as ‘pomo.’

He mentioned that countries like China, Morocco, Tunisia, among others, were reaping heavily in exports of raw hides and skins to the world during the same period; “while sadly, Nigeria consumes hers in a food delicacy that has no nutritional value.”

He, therefore, advocated for the stoppage of animal skin (pomo) consumption in order to save the country’s hides and skins industry.

The US, with a value of hides and skins put at over $57 billion, is said to be the world’s preferred supplier of raw and semi-processed materials for leather production.

BUSINESSDAY