How Trump’s tariffs could hit the Mexican leather sector
04/06/2019
Mexico’s total number of tanners at the moment is 900 and 650 of these are in Guanajuato. In Guanajuato, 85% of the leather manufacturers are classed as small or even micro, while 10% are medium-sized. Only 5% of the 650 are large.
Across the whole of Mexico, tanners process around 50,000 raw cattle hides every day, 35,000 of them in Guanajuato. With an average of 24 production days a month, this indicates 14.4 million hides per year for Mexico, and more than 10 million in Guanajuato.
CICUR’s figures show that Mexico slaughters around 9 million head of cattle per year, which means tanners in Mexico have to import around 5 million hides per year to meet the needs of the industry.
It estimates that 40% of the hides Mexican tanners process at the moment are destined for the automotive industry, while footwear companies consume around 37%. Another 13% goes to soling leather and leathergoods and 10% to furniture.
It says a little under 30% of all the finished leather Mexican tanners produce goes for export to the US.
Image: Wollsdorf Leather
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