So far, it hasn’t been a positive 2025 for the global leather industry. According to the numbers published by Li Yu Zhong (vice president of the benchmark association CLIA), the Chinese supply chain is no exception. In the period from January to June, the People’s Republic’s tanning industry reported revenue down 0.8% year-on-year.
Not a positive 2025
Zhong reported the industry’s results during the ACLE (All China Leather Exhibition), the annual trade show held in Shanghai from September 3-5. The business complexity factors are the same as those affecting business on the other side of the world too: demand for finished goods remaining weak, an aggravating picture comprised of negative influences of geopolitical tensions and the Trump administration’s Trade War (a very sensitive topic especially from the Chinese perspective). The effects can be seen on turnover and trade interchange of the entire cluster. According to International Leather Maker summaries, leather and leather product revenue in the six-month period stood at 49.2 billion euro (410 billion renminbi), of which 37 billion came from exports. Foreign sales, therefore, were down 7.8%, while import values dropped even more (amounting to 6.4 billion euro), -13.6%.
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