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Sources at the Agriculture Ministry said the ministry is devising new methods to control trade in donkey skin from the tanning stage to export.
According to Agriculture Ministry statistics, there are 2.5 million donkeys in Egypt, mostly concentrated in Menoufia, Beni Suef, Damietta, Gharbiya and Minya.
China is the main importer of donkey skin, which is used there as an aphrodisiac, while the Gulf countries spend $15 billion on sexual stimulants that are drawn from donkey skin.
In Egypt donkeys are used for helping farmers. They can carry loads and walk down narrow paths that other animals cannot.
