China’s leather industry, which includes the leather, footwear, leather garments, bags and cases sectors, recorded exports worth $25.4 billion and imports of $5.15 billion between January and April 2026, exports declined 6.5% year-on-year, while imports increased 4.3%, according to data released by the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA).
If April 2026 is viewed separately, China’s leather industry exported approximately $6.42 billion worth of leather, footwear, leather garments, bags and cases and imported around $1.28 billion during the month.
The overall export data shows a mixed trade performance across the industry, with exports falling in most major segments while select categories and imports showed varying trends.
The footwear segment remained the largest contributor to overall exports. However, export value declined during the period, reflecting weaker external demand conditions.
The bags and cases segment also recorded a decline in exports, while import demand increased during the same period.
Leather garments stood out as the only major segment to register export growth during the January to April 2026 period.
The tanning and raw materials segment showed mixed movement, with changes observed across raw hides, semi-finished leather and finished leather imports during the period.
Overall, the data indicates a 6.5% slowdown in China’s leather export performance, even as import activity across key categories shows divergent trends within the supply chain.
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