Global factors dominate Italian leather industry in Q2
In its latest quarterly report on the national leather sector, released today,
During the second quarter of 2003, all mean price indices for raw hides were down, with the steepest declines being seen in bovine leathers and calfskins. Sheepskins and goatskins were far less affected. The pattern was more varied across other commodities as prices of oil and derivatives fell while those for rubber, synthetics and natural fibres (except wool) increased.
Compared with the first quarter, only the value output of calfskins increased. The prices of sheepskins, goatskins and especially bovine leathers all dropped – the only increase in demand for the latter product being seen among Far Eastern purchasers. Prices for medium-priced products were generally the most badly hit while top end items held their ground. With regard to the wider industry, output of fabrics, accessories, bottoms/soles and synthetics were all down with strong declines being seen in the the latter two categories. In the short term, only fabrics grew. Generally speaking, demand from the
Predictably, returns in the Italian footwear sector were well down, though some glimmer of hope was afforded by the earlier than expected eradication of the SARS virus in the Far East and some hesitant signs of recovery in the German market. The leather goods sector recovered from its previous lows between late May and June, though retailers of top-end items continued to report difficulties. Demand for leather garments was sustained in all the main export markets while demand for upholstery leather in Italy and Europe dropped overall, with the decreases becoming larger as one approached the bottom end of the market.
