COWHIDE BUSINESS IN GHANA

INTRODUCTION
Cowhide is the natural unbleached skin and hair of a cow. Processed cowhide in Ghana is called “wele” which accounts to over 30% of all cow meat. Wholesale of Cowhide is fast growing in the major Cities of Ghana especially Kumasi. There are two types of this product wet and dry cowhide. Both products are imported into the country with the dry cowhide coming from other African countries such as Senegal, Mali and Niger and the wet ones are from European countries such as Germany. The dry cowhide dominates the Ghanaian market with most of the importers located in Kumasi. Cowhide is used in most Ghanaian delicacies such as soups and stews. Waakye which is a popular Ghanaian dish cannot be complete without wele. Processed cowhide is also common in other African delicacies, in Nigeria for instance its popular known as kpomo which is used in most of their dishes. Although there have been several debates on the health components of cowhide, an article by behealth African which was published by African feed.com revealed that cowhide contains a nutrients called collagen and small quantities of carbohydrates ,phosphorus ,fibre, calcium ,iron ,magnesium and zinc. Most Ghanaians patronize wele because of its affordability and most children also enjoy chewing it.Some other people use it as a substitute for meat although it has low protein as compared to other meats. Cowhide business is a very lucrative venture but unfortunately most of the youth shy away from it.

IMPORTATION OF COWHIDE
You can start this business as an importer although you need to have an experience or a mentor to guide you. Most of the importers are located at the sokoban market in Kumasi a hub noted for this trade. These are wholesalers who have customers travelling across the country to patronize their stock immediately it arrives with customers even from Nigeria. However most importers are affected by the following risk which I have outlined with the measures to mitigate them;
VARIOUS RISK

1. RAINS: Exposure to rain during transit of goods from the country of production to the point (country) of sale can cause damage to the products which will eventually end up being cost to the importer. For this reason, the product is usually transported during the dry season. Also, producers of the product at Mali and Senegal need more of sunlight to dry the product to put it in good condition before transporting it to the importer. Without sunlight, producers cannot produce enough which will result in scarcity of the product and thereby causing the price of the product to increase. –
2. Heat: Although cowhide needs sunlight to keep it in good condition, exposure to heat at the point of storage can damage the product. The product needs to be stored in a warehouse with proper ventilation. Heat can cause the product to become moist which acts as a catalyst for the product to get rotten. –
3. Forex risk: Cowhide is mostly imported, which makes the buyer to exchange his or her currency before purchasing the product. To this effect, fluctuations in currencies especially with depreciation of the buyer’s currency against the major trading currency of the exporter affects the importer purchasing power. Quantities of purchase will be reduced and price of the goods may go up when this happens. –
4. Transportation risk: Major mode of transport for this product is by road. Vehicles developing fault or involving in accident in the course of transporting the goods may delay the delivery of the product which may result in distortions of the supply chain. Some or all of the products are likely to be damaged to this effect. –
5. Credit sales: Majority of this product are sold on credit basis, so delays in payment of
   receivables can affect the client’s business.

PROCESSING
Cowhide is burnt mostly with tyres which has raised lots of concerns due to the health risk that comes with it. The burnt cowhide is then allowed to cool and soaked in water to keep it soft and
also to get rid of the bitter taste. Please note that the longer it stays in the water the bigger it becomes .The cowhide is later washed with sponge and cut into different sizes ready for the market. As a trader in this business you always have to keep left over stock in water or refrigerated. PACKAGING This is the aspect most traders fail and as a startup this is where you have an advantage. Everything in this life is about packaging hence with an approval from FDA you can package your wele to attract customers. Once its FDA approved you can supply to supermarkets, restaurants and other malls to boost your sales .As a frozen foods seller you can also add wele to your food items.

CONCLUSION
Cowhide business is a venture that may not be appealing but generate good income which I recommend for startups either on retail or wholesale basis and anyone into frozen foods.