We will remember it, as we wait to identify the most suitable adjective for 2024, as “the negative 2023“: the year in which the economy stopped rebounding from the pandemic, supply chains stopped, and consumption dropped. This balance sheet compiled by Leather UK, the English reference association for the segment, confirms that British tanning has not been immune to the general trend: in the year, total export value fell by 14.4%, while the value of imports fell by 20.7%.
The horrible 2023
The signs are all negative. Finished cattle-leather, which account for 95% of exports, dropped 23% in volume and -14.5% in value. The discrepancy in performance, Leather UK notes, means that companies have the ability to force up prices in a difficult economy, but it is meager consolation. Falling values of tanning raw material, especially sheep, are recording very weak demand. Speaking of sheep, the collapse of imports by 80% in value and 92% in volume, reflects the failure of Pittards. Speaking of target markets, Europe is the destination for 62% of raw cattle, 90% of semi-finished and 26% of finished leather. As far as the United States go, the latter has been overtaken by Morocco as the top buyer for finished leather.
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