Brazil’s exports decline: Middle East demand up
Brazilian leather exports to Middle Eastern and North African countries grew by 250% from January to May this year, in comparison with the same period in 2007. The Confederation of Brazilian Hides and Skins Industries (CICB) has reported shipments of leather to the region worth $ 1.8 million in the first five months this year. During the same period last year, sales were $530,000.
Leading importers of Brazilian leather in the region were Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, with Tunisia taking the largest share—almost $ 1.7 million worth of Brazilian leather went to the African country, and increase of 276% on shipments over the same period last year.
Up until the end of May, Brazil’s overall exports of leather were worth $897.8 million. From that total, $887.4 million was from bovine leather. Exports of this type of skin saw a 4.6% reduction during the period. In terms of volume, overseas sales of bovine leather decreased even further, by 24.8%, to reach 11.4 million skins.
“The decrease is a consequence of the appreciation of the real, which compromises pricing of Brazilian leather in overseas markets, reducing the competitiveness of our tanning sector,” explained the president of CICB in a press release.
Between January and May, the leading buyer of Brazilian leathers and skins was Italy, followed by China, Hong Kong, United States, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands. Tunisia ranked twenty-eighth on the list. CICB projects overseas sales of $2.15 billion for the sector in 2008.
