Four markets take 90% of US wet-salted hides
19/12/2017
USHSLA figures for the first ten months of 2017 show that packers and traders shipped 20.3 million wet-salted hides over the period, bringing in export revenues of more than $1.2 billion. These numbers represent an increase of 16% in volume and of 9% in value.
More than half of this total, 11.2 million wet-salted hides, went to China over the ten-month period, representing a year-on-year increase of 8%. The volume of shipments to South Korea, Mexico and Thailand rose by 12%, 53% and 107% respectively, with totals of 3 million, 2.9 million and 1.2 million.
Together, these four markets consumed more than 90% of all US wet-salted hide exports between January and October 2017.
In contrast, exports of wet blue from the US have continued to slide. In the first ten months of this year, tanners and traders shipped 5.1 million wet blue hides to markets around the world, bringing in $488.3 million. In terms of volume, wet blue exports fell by 6% compared to the same months in 2016, and by 3% in value.
However, as has been the case throughout 2017, the influential Italian market has been the exception. Tanners in Italy sourced more than 1.9 million US wet blue hides in the first ten months of 2017, 40% more than in the same period last year, paying $187.1 million, an increase in value of 39%.
With China’s wet blue purchases falling by 13% in volume (to 1.7 million hides) and by 8% in value (to just under $160 million), Italy is now the most important market for US wet blue.
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