In the first five months of 2003, exports of Brazilian finished leather were up by a massive 72% compared with the year before.

Cézar Muller, president of AICSul - Association of Tanners of the State of Rio Grande do Sul – attributes the rise to the deliberate efforts made by manufacturers and trade bodies in recent years to improve the competitiveness of the product in the international marketplace, as well as the duty imposed on the export of wet blue at the end of 2001.

He also cites to increased co-operation between the industry and government bodies, something which had made the industry better geared to the production of finished leather.  Bovine finished leather already accounted for 25% of all Brazilian leather exports.

 Brazilian bovine leather exports Jan-May 2002 vs. 03

Type of leather	2002	2003	%
In US$
Wet salted	2,437,411	1,218,650	-50
Wet blue	151,570,705	167,336,657	10
Crust/Vegetable	79,612,115	70,114,294	-12
Finished	116,011,017	171,381,053	48
Total	349,621,248	410,050,654	17
Type of leather	2002	2003	%
In number of hides
Wet salted	139,948	115,974	-17
Wet blue	4,855,734	5,414,004	11
Crust/Vegetable	1,078,731	997,013	-8
Finished	1,227,362	2,114,546	72
Total	7,301,775	8,641,537	Share this story: Leatherbiz.com cannot be held responsible for content if the language setting is changed from English. The translations provided by Google Translate are automated and therefore might not be accurate and may contain incorrect, offensive or misleading language. We offer this facility as a guide only.