The global leather goods market size is expected to expand rapidly from 2023 to 2030.
Feb 06, 2023
The EU leather industry
The leather industry covers diverse products and industrial processes. Leather tanning covers the treatment of raw materials, i.e. the conversion of raw hide or skin into leather and finishing it so that it can be used in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products. The footwear, garment, furniture, automotive and leather goods industries are the most important outlets for EU tanners' production.
Characteristics of the industry
The leather tanning industry uses hides and skins (by-products from the meat and dairy industry) that would otherwise be disposed of by being sent to landfills or incinerated. Leather is the tanning sector's fundamental output. It is an intermediate industrial product, with applications in downstream sectors of the consumer goods industry.
Economic importance of the industry
The leather and related goods sector comprises about 36,000 enterprises and generates a turnover of €48 billion. These enterprises employ around 435,000 people.
The EU is the source of some of the highest value calfskins in terms of leather and raw material. Tanneries in the European Union are typically family-owned, small and medium-sized enterprises. Regional concentration is strong, and the industry often plays a key role in the local economy, being the predominant creator of wealth and employment.
Competitiveness of the leather industry
The leather tanning industry is a global industry, and EU tanners are highly dependent on access to raw materials and to export markets. The EU tanning industry is still the world's largest supplier of leather in the international market place. This is despite the shrinkage of the share of the EU in world markets due to the development of the leather industry in other regions of the world such as Asia and the Americas.
