Introduction

China is diversifying donkey-hide supply for the ejiao industry through a combination of geographic expansion, development of intermediary supply hubs, and continued reliance on both formal and informal trade channels. These strategies reflect an effort to sustain production despite declining domestic donkey populations and tightening export restrictions in key supplier regions.¹²³⁴

Main channels of diversification

1. Broader sourcing across multiple regions

China’s domestic donkey population has declined significantly over the past two decades, while the ejiao industry requires an estimated 4.8 to 5 million hides annually. Domestic supply has been insufficient to meet this demand, creating a structural import dependency.¹

To address this gap, sourcing has expanded across a wide range of countries beyond China’s borders, including multiple regions in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Africa has historically been central to this supply, accounting for approximately 59% of China’s imported equid skins prior to recent policy changes.¹²

As supply conditions tightened in traditional source countries, procurement shifted toward a broader pool of suppliers, reducing reliance on any single region while maintaining aggregate supply volumes.¹

2. Development of intermediary supply hubs

A more structured form of diversification has emerged through intermediary supply hubs. Pakistan has become a key node in this system, serving both as a source of donkey hides and as a processing and re-export platform.³⁴

This model enables the consolidation of inputs from multiple origins, including skins sourced from Africa, which are processed and exported onward to China. It adds an additional layer to the value chain, allowing supply to continue even when direct exports from primary source countries are restricted.³⁴

The shift toward intermediary hubs reflects a move from direct bilateral sourcing to more complex, multi-country supply chains that are better able to absorb regulatory shocks.

3. Regulatory pressure driving geographic substitution

Regulatory changes in major supplier regions have played a decisive role in reshaping sourcing patterns. In 2024, African Union member states introduced a continent-wide moratorium on donkey slaughter for skins in response to rapid population declines and risks to rural livelihoods.²

This reduced access to what had been the industry’s largest external supply base. Rather than reducing overall demand, sourcing has shifted toward countries without comparable restrictions, resulting in geographic substitution.¹³

The effect has been a redistribution of pressure on donkey populations, with new supplier countries becoming increasingly important as earlier sources become constrained.

4. Continued reliance on informal and illicit trade channels

Diversification has also occurred through less formal mechanisms. Weak enforcement capacity, porous borders, and strong price incentives have sustained cross-border movements of donkey hides outside official trade systems.¹

Legal and illegal flows often overlap, making the scale of the trade difficult to measure. Informal networks allow supply chains to remain operational even where export bans or restrictions are in place. This flexibility supports continued production but reduces traceability and increases risks associated with illegal slaughter, livestock theft, and unregulated trade.¹

5. Parallel efforts to rebuild domestic supply

Alongside external diversification, China has attempted to rebuild domestic supply through targeted breeding programs and policy support in key production regions such as Shandong province.¹

However, structural constraints limit the effectiveness of these efforts. Donkeys have relatively slow reproduction rates, and raising them at scale is costly compared to sourcing hides internationally. As a result, domestic expansion has not eliminated the need for imports, reinforcing the importance of diversified global sourcing strategies.¹³

Conclusion

China’s ejiao industry has adapted to supply constraints by expanding sourcing across multiple regions, developing intermediary supply hubs, and maintaining access through both formal and informal channels. These strategies have not reduced demand for donkey hides. Instead, they have redistributed sourcing pressures globally and created a more complex, geographically dispersed, and less transparent supply chain.