Tanners are now turning down hides
27/06/2018
Even though prices have come down substantially since their peak a few years ago, tanners in some parts of the industry have now decided that it’s not financially viable for them to process low-quality hides because of lack of demand for leather at the lower end of the market.
These are the main conclusions from the latest edition of the exclusive Leather Pipeline market intelligence report, published as part of Leatherbiz Weekly on June 26. The report takes the packer industry to task for assuming, and telling the market, that hides were going to become scarcer and more expensive. In response, it says, it was only natural for large footwear companies and others to increase their use of alternative materials. It also points out that, owing to the lack of a central body to fight its corner, the leather industry was unable to present a strong counter-argument to keep the shoe brands on board.
“Slowly, the [leather] industry is beginning to look at its options,” the Leather Pipeline report says, “and in several countries producers are refraining from processing low-value hide; they consider it not to be financially viable any more or they simply want to reduce the input of this material. We are beginning to reach a similar situation to that of the sheepskin market.”
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