Tunisia leather and footwear exports up 16.8%
Leather and footwear exports in Tunisia increased by 16.8% between 2010-2011 (the first five months), going up from $279 million to $326 million, according to statistics from the National Leather and Footwear Centre.
The growth was accompanied by a 9.4% rise in imports.
Tunisia’s major suppliers are Italy (47.8%), France (23.7%) and Germany (8.8%). Imports from these three countries represent 80.3% of total imports.
The country’s customers in the leather and footwear sector are mainly Italy, France and Germany, totalling 87.4% of the country’s exports. Italy ranks as the first customer, with 45.6% of the exports during the first five months of 2011. The most noticeable increase of the Tunisian exports (+86.7%) was recorded by the Swiss market; while exports to the United Kingdom dropped by 30.8%.
