2024 was another year of suffering. And 2025 continues to have, for the Italian tanning industry, the enigmatic shape of a question mark. Data compiled by UNIC – Italian Tanneries’ Economic Service leaves no room for doubt. “Current estimates for the first three quarters of 2024″, reads a note, “show an overall 8.5% decline in production volumes and a -4.1% in turnover compared to 2023. An “extremely negative” period if the comparison is made with 2022. In other words, “last year ended on a positive note, but in the last 24 months, the sector has lost 17.2% in production and 10.3% in turnover”.
2025 is a question mark
“2025”, comments UNIC, ”now appears more complicated than ever. And making reliable forecasts is extremely difficult. One navigates – poorly – by sight. “There is a lack of concrete elements that would suggest a change of course in consumption and, consequently, in the dynamics of production of leather goods in the coming months. Consumer confidence is low and the unfortunately growing international political and trade issues certainly do not bring much positivity in this regard.
In this context, the first months of the new U.S. presidency will probably be crucial”. Europe is concerning, as “continued political uncertainty is accompanied by confusion, created by often demagogic and unnecessarily radical environmentalism”. Does 2025, then, remain a question mark for Italian tanning? Perhaps, because “some important analysts predict a slightly growing 2025 for the top end of fashion”. UNIC points out that “in concrete terms, the hopes for recovery reside mainly in the second half of the year, with the overall year counting on closing with a slightly positive sign”.
Finished leather exports
As for exports, the latest available data covers the period January-August 2024 and is inevitably negative. “Italian export flows of finished leather also show an overall decline, down 2.7% in value and 5% in volume (square meters). Despite the negative signs, the analysis of the main destination countries shows differentiated trends, even of considerable intensity.” For example, UNIC shows, “in value, France (+3%, the first foreign market for Italian leathers), Spain (+20%), China (+4%, including Hong Kong), Vietnam (+23%), Germany (+5%) and South Korea (+7%) are growing”.
Types and IGC
“In terms of production by animal origin, bovine hides show less negative changes on average than sheep and goats’ ones”, UNIC continues. In terms of use, however, there isn’t a positive one: “Difficulties appear to be widespread across all types of customers”. In this regard, “the figure on the use of the Wages Guarantee Fund is very significant, for which, unfortunately, there is no specific survey for the tanning sector, but only the aggregate related to the leather chain”. That is: tanning, footwear and leather goods. Well, “in the first 9 months of the year, the total use of WGF (ordinary and extraordinary) increased by 140% over the same period in 2023 and 154% compared to 2022”.
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