Brazil’s leather export market had a mixed performance in March 2025. According to fresh data analyzed by CICB, the country exported hides and skins worth USD 103.1 million. While that’s a 5.4% increase from February, it’s still 5.8% less than the same month last year.
Export volumes told a different story. Brazil shipped 16.3 million square meters and 56,500 tons of leather products in March.
That’s up 1.5% in area and 16.2% in weight compared to March 2024. However, when compared to February 2025, both area and weight dropped slightly.
For the first quarter of 2025, Brazil’s leather exports totaled USD 298.8 million. That’s 4.3% lower than the same time in 2024. But on the positive side, total export area rose by 8.2% and weight jumped by 25.3%.
China, Italy, and the United States remained Brazil’s top buyers this year. China led the pack with 31.4% of export value and 46.3% of area, even though its share slightly dipped. Italy followed with a 13.4% value share, and the U.S. took third place at 12.9%.
The numbers showed China and Italy buying more leather by volume but paying less overall. The United States, meanwhile, saw a drop in both value and volume of imports, even though March showed some recovery.
Other markets also showed changes. Nigeria had a sharp rise in purchases, mainly for salted hides. Norway saw the highest growth in the quarter, increasing its import value by 46% and area by 44.7%.
Looking at the types of leather, wet blue remained a top export but saw a drop in value. Finished leather held the largest share by value but also dropped in price.
Crust leather was the only one that saw both value and area decline. On the other hand, salted hides more than doubled in export weight compared to last year.
March marked the third month in a row where Brazil earned less money from leather exports compared to the previous year. But at the same time, the amount of leather shipped has been going up consistently. This means prices per unit are falling, especially for top products like finished leather.
Source – Brazilian Leather
