All leather-producing countries face different challenges regarding the quality of raw material in the leather value chain. One factor they all have in common is that hides and skins are a by-product of the food industry, and livestock is reared to produce the best meat and/or milk yield, not the best leather. That said, East African tanneries can derive optimal economic value from proper management of hides and skins. SITA has produced a manual, tailored to the East African context, to guide tanneries on how to maximize the pre-tanning quality of hides and skins.