Brazil exported sqm. 172.3M leather, for $1.41B, in 2021. Compared to the previous year, the increases are 0.5% in volume and 44.9% in revenues. The data come from the Secretariat for Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy (Source: Exclusivo.com) and are presented in the document Exportações Brasileiras de Couros e Peles, by CICB - Centro das Indústrias de Curtumes do Brasil.
China, Italy and the United States were the three main international markets for Brazilian leather in 2021: these three countries account for 58.6% of the value and 60.3% in surface exported from Brazil. China’s share was 29.5% in value and 36% in terms of surface. Italians have a share of 15.3% in turnover and 15.9% in volume. Americans share 13.8% in value and 8.6% in exported surface.
“The dependence of domestic exporters on these few countries is evident, demonstrating that traditional customers are still important to the sector. On the other hand, this concentration of almost two-thirds in just three countries out of a total of 76 destinations, can pose a risk to economic or political instability, trade wars, logistical problems, or other factors that can affect business in a worrying way,” says Rogério Cunha, CICB’s commercial area.
Exporting States
Rio Grande do Sul finished last year as the absolute leader in exports, with almost double the value of second place. Gauchos exported 29.7% of the country’s total leather, with São Paulo in second place with 16.6%, Paraná in third with 14.8% and Goiás in fourth, with 13.3%. In terms of volume, the leadership is repeated, with 29.1% for the Gauchos, 15.9% for the people of Paraná, 15.5% for the people of São Paulo and 13.2% for the people of Goiás.
Prices
As for prices, in 2021 there were improvements at all stages, with emphasis on Wet Blue, which ended the year with an index 95.4% higher than the previous year. Among the leathers with the highest added value, Finished Leather recorded an increase of 25.8% and semi-finished products by 39.2%.
