French leather sector exports to China hit by ‘tariff arm-wrestling’
National industry body Alliance France Cuir has calculated a fall of 8% in the value of the French leather industry’s exports to Asia in the first ten months of 2025.
It said there had been declines of 9.5% in the value of shipments to Japan, and of 7.5% in the export revenues coming into the industry during the ten-month period from sales in South Korea.
Even though the reduction in China and in Hong Kong was lower, 4.6% and 5.5%, respectively, Alliance France Cuir said the figures for those markets were the most significant.
It explained that the French leather sector had earned €4 billion from full-year exports to China and Hong Kong in 2024, putting those markets far in front of the US and Italy, which had full-year figures of €2.4 billion and €1.9 billion, respectively, in 2024.
In the first ten months of 2025, leathergoods accounted for 85% of export value for the French leather sector in China. Footwear accounted for 12%.
In 2025, Alliance France Cuir said the sector’s shipments to China had been affected by international trade tensions and domestic events. It said buyers in China had become “more prudent” about placing new orders owing to “the uncertainties resulting from all the tariff arm-wrestling between Beijing and Washington”.
Domestically, according to Alliance France Cuir, lower sales in China were also linked to a reduction in consumer confidence there, which has its roots in the property crisis that began in 2017, followed by long covid-19 lockdowns. “This has, progressively, encouraged Chinese consumers to buy less,” it said.
It quoted Alain Wang, a China expert who has taught at the Institut Français de la Mode fashion school for the last 15 years. He said: “Chinese consumers are saving their money because they are fearful of the future. China continues to have success in export markets and money is coming into the country, but the situation is precarious because of a lack of social protection.”
Mr Wang said that, in times of crisis, children’s education, health and saving for retirement become the top priorities for Chinese consumers.
Image: An Hermès bag in one of the company’s stores in Shanghai.
