According to official data released by the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) China’s leather industry reported a decline in 2025 as key tanneries recorded lower sales and the country imported less raw, semi finished and finished leather.

Exports from the Chinese leather industry, which includes leather, footwear, leather garments, bags and cases reached $82.72 billion in 2025. This marks a drop of 10.9% year-on-year (YOY)

Imports also declined during the same year. China imported leather, footwear, leather garments, bags and cases worth $15.53 billion, which is 10.2% lower compared to the previous year.

Lets look at the leather sector today, the total sales revenue of major tanneries in China’s leather industry reached 52.6 billion RMB (~$7.67 billion) in 2025. This marked a 9.8% drop compared to the previous year.

At the same time, China reduced its imports of raw hides and skins. The country imported 1.419 million tons, with a total value of $1.13 billion. This showed a decline of 4.7% in quantity and a sharper 15.8% drop in value year-on-year.

Imports of semi-finished leather also went down during the year. China imported 581,000 tons in this category, which was 6.1% lower than the previous year. The value of these imports stood at $840 million, falling by 18.1%.

Finished leather imports followed the same trend. The total quantity imported was 36,000 tons, while the value reached $570 million. This reflected a drop of 15.6% in volume and 15.7% in value compared to 2024.

In total, China imported $2.54 billion worth of raw hides and skins, semi finished and finished leather in 2025.