China finds sofa leather in short supply
Chinese media have highlighted how some Chinese furniture factories are currently struggling to purchase the leather needed to make enough sofas to meet present demand.
One factory in Shunde, Guangdong, run by Zhong Sheming, has seen an annual increase of 30% in orders of its sofas, but is struggling with a shortage of appropriate materials owing to the fallout from covid-19-related restrictions on foreign leather imports into China during the first half of 2020.
China’s supply of raw leather material is usually imported from Brazil, Vietnam, India and Italy, along with some domestic leather buying.
Prior to the epidemic, Mr Zhong’s factory would take an order before purchasing the leather required. Now, due to “tight supply and poor logistics”, he is forced to accumulate leather before taking orders, in order to mitigate against customer delivery delays.
Other raw materials used to make sofas, such as wood, are also currently in demand, Mr Zhong said.
Image: CCTV.
