The leather industry in the UK, after a brief reprieve in 2022, has shown a decline in numbers for the year 2023, with declining value and volume of both exports and imports.
- Trade was greatly reduced with total export values down by 14.4% and total import values down by 20.7%, compared to 2022, and continuing the trend of declining trade that were starting to emerge at the end of the previous year.
- The numbers come from Leather UK's latest report UK Leather & Leather Goods Industry in 2023.
- The report remarked: The UK is not unique in this current difficult situation with national industry associations across the globe, and Europe in particular, reporting very difficult trading conditions.
- The fall in the value of raw material exports was greater than the fall in volume, illustrating the decline in both the demand for leather and value of raw materials. In contrast, the values of part-processed and finished leather exports fell to a smaller degree than volumes, suggesting that price increases had been achieved albeit against a background of a decline in absolute demand.
- A significant trend was the nearly 23% fall in the volume of exports of bovine finished leather—bovine leather accounted for almost 95% of UK finished leather exports—against a 14.5% fall in export values. The fact that while increasing prices for finished leather were being achieved, absolute volumes were in decline, was seen as a worrying trend.
TRADE WITH THE EU: The report said that the imminent introduction of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) brings a significant risk of extensive disruption to the trade in raw hides and bovine leather between the UK and EU.
- The EU was the destination for 62% of bovine raw hides, over 90% of part-processed leather and 26% of finished leather exported by the UK in 2023. Over 90% of raw hides, 68% of part-processed leather and 89% of finished leather imported into the UK came from the EU. Any disruption to this would be a challenge for the UK leather and leather good manufacturers.
- Trade with the EU comprised 42.1% of total exports of raw materials and leather in 2023, down from 45.7% in 2022. Exports of raw materials increased slightly, accounting for 51.6% and 41.2% of the value and volume of exports in 2023.
- The market for finished leather was diverse in 2023 with the EU accounting for only 26.8% of exports on a value basis.
- The EU accounted for over 84% of all raw material and leather imports in 2023. Total imports for raw materials and part-processed leather rose lightly while the proportion of finished leather imports fell, in both value and volume.
