THE HIDE REPORT

Spain’s leather exports, imports lower in 2019

 The commercial balance of the Spanish hide and leather sector between January and November 2019 was again negative in all its subsectors, both in its exports and in its imports. However, in the last months, there was a slight deceleration in the decline, however, in some subsectors, the drop hit 30 percent. In terms of sales of tanned skins exported, the decline is just over 1 percent.

According to data from the General Directorate of Customs, between January and November 2019, compared to the same period in 2018, exports of raw skins fell 12.4 percent (€19.8 million less); semi-cured skins were down by 29.8 percent (€22.8 million less) and tanned skins were down by just 1.2 percent (€4.2 million less).

Regarding leather and leather imports, in the same period, compared to the previous year, imports of raw skins decreased by 29.3 percent (€20 million less); the import of semi-cured skins was down by 23 percent (€26.8 million less) and, finally, tanned skins were down by 7.6 percent (€23.7 million less).

Overall, the commercial hide balance for the first 11 months of 2019 was in