UNIC puts a price on input cost rises
Italy’s national tanning industry association UNIC has calculated that it is costing its members 12% more to produce leather now compared to the same time last year.
In the build-up to Lineapelle in Milan (September 20-22), UNIC shared data that shows leather manufacturers in Italy are paying 360% more for energy than they were 12 months ago, 42% more for water treatment and 31% more for chemicals.
It has calculated that this puts the cost of one square-metre of leather up by 12% and UNIC warned that if input costs continue increasing at the same pace, each square-metre of finished leather will cost a further 5.5% more to produce by the end of this year.
It said it wanted to raise awareness of the impact on the leather industry of steep increases in costs triggered by the pandemic and exacerbated by the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine.
