The recent All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE), held September 5-7, attracted 1,260 exhibiting companies from 37 countries and regions, with 23 group pavilions. The number of exhibiting companies showed a 16% increase compared with last year. Total floor space available was 57,500 m2, an increase of 25% from last year.

The majority of the 15,117 buyers came from the Shanghai area and Zhejiang province. The number of buyers from Zhejiang province, where important footwear production centres such as Wenzhou are located, increased by 24% compared with 2005. The number of buyers from the Guangdong province also rose by 24%.

The next edition will be held September 5 - 7, 2007, in Shanghai.

The highest proportion of exhibiting sectors were: semi-finished leather or finished leather (30.3%); tanning machinery (15%); process chemical & dyes (13.6%); hides & skins (11.3%); and components & accessories (10.1%).