CLIA shows optimism, despite first-half figures
03/09/2009
The leather sector in China, as in all other parts of the world, has had a difficult last 12 months.
Figures revealed by the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) on the first day of the 2009 All China Leather Exhibition show that, for the first half of 2009, the export value of leather and leathergoods was $18.2 billion, down by 7% on the figure for the same period last year. At the same time, the value of leather and leathergoods imports decreased by 24.8% to just over $2 billion.
Chinese tanners exported 10,000 tonnes of finished leather in the January-June period, with a value of $100 million. Compared to the same period in 2008, this represents a decrease of 45.9% in volume and of 62.7% in value. Chinese imports of finished leather were also down, by 12.3% in volume, to 85,000 tonnes, and by 18.1% in value, to $950 million.
Footwear manufacturers in China exported 420 million pairs of leather shoes in the first half of this year with a combined value of $3.8 billion. These figures, too, represent a downturn compared to the first of 2008, of 24.8% in volume and 14.7% in value. Chinese buyers imported 6.2 million pairs of leather shoes over the January-June 2009 period. And although this represents a 20.6% decrease in volume, the value of those shoes, $190 million, is an increase of 9.9% on the value of first-half leather footwear imports last year.
With leather garments, the reverse happened. Imports increased by 17.4% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2008, but the value, $9.2 million, represented a 9.9% drop.
CLIA secretary general, Su Chao Ying, said that the pace of the downturn in the Chinese leather sector had slowed and that the situation was improving month by month. He said the industry showed signs of having overcome its difficulties.
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