France: Q1 raw materials exports flat, imports down in value
Exports of hides and skins from France in the first quarter of 2025 had a total value of €53.1 million, a figure that was flat compared to the same quarter last year.
Figures shared by Alliance France Cuir show that exports of bovine hides over the three-month period had a value of €34.8 million, up by 1% year on year. For calfskins, exports reached €10.9 million in value, an increase of 3%.
There was a big increase in the value of sheepskins, rising by 31% to reach €3.8 million. But there was an even larger fall in the export revenues coming into France from shipments of exotic skins. This figure fell by 40% to reach €3 million.
Over the January-March 2025 period, tanners in France imported hides and skins worth €38.5 million, down by 8% compared to the same months last year.
Here, imported exotic skins had by far the biggest share of the total, with material with a value of €27.2 million coming in. This, however, meant a fall of 14% compared to the first quarter of 2024.
Imports of bovine hides were down by 2% to €5.5 million, while the value of imported calfskins was down by 33%, reaching €1.2 million.
In contrast, the value of imported sheepskins went up by 77% to reach €4.6 million.
Image: Tanneries Haas
