Footwear figures show a sharp fall in leather shoe imports into China
Footwear manufacturers in China exported more than 5.1 billion pairs in the first seven months of 2025, bringing in revenues of $25.6 billion.
Exports of leather footwear accounted for 300 million pairs of the total volume and almost $4.4 billion of the total export value.
Overall, the export figures show volumes that were nearly flat with the same period last year, down by just 0.7%, but a fall in value of 7.3%.
Retailers and traders in China imported 100 million pairs of footwear in the same seven-month period, investing more than $3.1 billion. These figures are also down, by 12.4% in volume and 9.1% in value year on year.
Of the total footwear imports, leather shoes accounted for 29.7 million pairs and contributed more than $1.3 billion towards the total spend, falling more steeply than overall shoe imports.
Between January and July, China imported 21.1% fewer leather shoes than in the same period the year before and decreased its spend on leather footwear from other countries by 18.3%.
The source of these figures is the China Leather Industry Association.
