A hide supply crisis could await, COTANCE warns
Senior representatives of the leather industry in Europe have held a meeting with a counterpart from the European Commission’s directorate general for the environment. The focus of the discussion was the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will start to come into application at the end of 2025.
The president and vice-president of industry body COTANCE, Manuel Ríos and Fabrizio Nutti, met the international relations officer of DG Environment, Emanuele Pitto.
COTANCE secretary general, Gustavo González-Quijano, also took part in the discussion.
Afterwards, COTANCE said that Mr Ríos and Mr Nutti had made it clear to the European Commission official that, as things stand, leather manufacturers in Europe “face a supply crisis”.
They said only the livestock and meat sectors can provide the detailed information required for cattle hides to meet EUDR requirements. So far, they said, there has been no clear signal from hide suppliers in the European Union or outside of it when and how the necessary information might become available.
This, they added, has left uncertainty among European leather manufacturers over access to the raw materials they are going to need in the months ahead.
COTANCE said it was grateful for the opportunity to engage with DG Environment, but insisted that if hides, skins and leather remain among the products that come within EUDR’s scope, a supply crisis could lie ahead.
It added that the leather industry in Europe was being unfairly impacted by regulations that “have no real connection to the sector”.
IMAGE (left to right): Manuel Ríos, Emanuele Pitto, Fabrizio Nutti and Gustavo González-Quijano.
CREDIT: COTANCE.
