Italy cements its position as the biggest market for US wet blue
23/10/2017
Wet-salted hide exports are up by 17% in volume overall and by 12% in value for the eight-month period, giving figures of more than 16.3 million hides and $1 billion. China, South Korea, Mexico, Thailand and Taiwan all imported more wet-salted hides between January and August 2017 compared to the same months in 2016.
Over the same period, 4.1 million wet blue hides left the US, bringing in almost $390 million in export revenues. These figures represent a decline of 6% in volume and of 4% in value. However, Italy’s substantial increase in use of wet blue from the US continues.
Italian tanners have used more than 1.5 million US wet blue so far this year, investing almost $150 million in the material. This means its imports of US wet blue are up by 40% in volume and by 36% in value.
Italy is now the most important market for US wet blue: China’s imports of the material are down by 9% in volume and by 5% in value compared to January-August 2016. China imported just over 1.4 million US wet blue hides between January and August 2017, spending just over $130 million.
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