January-August 2025: import grows, French leather rethinks itself
In January-August 2025, the trade balance for French leather contracts. This is highlighted in Alliance France Cuir’s cyclical note: exports drop by 1 percent for raw hides and skins, while imports grow by 4 percent for finished leathers. A double movement that signals a change in flows, with increasing pressure on the trade balance. At the same time, a quality trend is asserting itself: fewer volumes, but more selected materials. The supply chain is repositioning itself, between contraction and specialization. This is how French leather rethinks itself.
French leather rethinks itself
In raw hides and skins, imports fall 10 percent, while exports shrink 1 percent. Calves mark the sharpest decline: -38% in imports and -13% in exports. Sheep, on the contrary, grow: +25% in imports and +18% in exports. In tanning, sales drop 12.7%, but imports of finished leather increase 7%, with positive performances for cattle (+8%) and calves (+15%). Exports remain stable (+2%), but with declines in reptiles (-20%).
Less quantity, more value
In footwear, total production falls 11.4%, sales 7.2%. Still, distribution is holding up: signs register +1.7% on a like-for-like basis, with stable sales (+0.2%) and average price up 4.5%. Leather goods show mixed signals: +3% in industrial sales, but -3.6% in women’s handbag production. Exports drop by 4%, imports by 6%. Quality becomes a competitive lever, in a global context that rewards selection.
Photo from Alliance France Cuir
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