LHCA reports hide exports for January-November 2023
The Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) has published details of wet salted and wet blue hides from the US in the first 11 months of 2023.
It said packers, traders and tanners had exported a total of 26.2 million hides in the period from January to November last year. This represents a fall of 7.7% compared to the same period in 2022.
The 2023 figure comprises 22.8 million wet-salted hides and 3.4 million wet blue. Both figures represent a decline, of 8% and 6% respectively, year on year.
In terms of revenue, the total for the first 11 months of 2023 was just over $1 billion, down by 13.1%. Wet-salted hides brought in $705 million, a fall of 13%, while wet blue exports brought in almost $330 million, down by 14%.
China provided positive news for wet-salted hides because it imported almost 15.5 million pieces, up by 7% year on year, with revenues of $463.6 million, up by 1%. China remains by far the biggest buyer of US wet-salted hides.
On wet blue, Italy remained the biggest buyer, but only just. Tanners in Italy imported 806,568 wet blue hides from the US, a fall of 28% compared to the January-November period in 2022. China’s total was also down, by 5%, but ran Italy close with total imports of 796,268 pieces of wet blue over the period.
Vietnam followed with 728,473 wet blue hides, followed by Mexico, whose imports of US wet blue almost doubled to reach 440,000 pieces.
