Leather is one of the four key sectors of French imports and exports. In 2025, France’s leather industry recorded €13.7 billion in imports and €18.6 billion in exports, maintaining its position as one of the most active leather trading nations in the world with a trade surplus of €4.9 billion in 2025.
Today, we will dive deeper into the French leather industry imports in 2025, breaking down which countries are supplying France, which product segments are driving demand and where the key shifts are happening.
After the sharp post-COVID growth of 2021 and 2022, French leather imports have stabilised in 2025. The total of €13.7 billion is almost identical to 2023 and 2024.
The split between Europe and Asia is now almost perfectly even. Europe supplies 47% of what France imports at €6.4 billion and Asia supplies 50% at €6.9 billion.
Europe used to be the dominant source by a wider margin and the gradual shift toward Asia is now a defining feature of how France sources its leather, footwear and leather products.
Where France Imported From in 2025:
Italy: €3.55 Billion (-5% when compared to 2024)
China: €2.88 Billion (+2%)
Vietnam: €2.02 Billion (+11%)
Spain: €682 Million (-14%)
Indonesia: €649 Million (+5%)
India: €512 Million (+4%)
Portugal: €434 Million (+6%)
Netherlands: €339 Million (-2%)
Cambodia: €292 Million (+24%)
Belgium: €283 Million (+19%)
Other countries: €2.09 Billion (-5%)
Total: €13.74 Billion
Italy is still the largest single source of imports at €3.6 billion but it declined 5% this year. Spain fell harder at 14% down. Both of those European declines were absorbed by Southeast Asia without the total moving at all.
Vietnam crossed the €2 billion mark for the first time, growing 11%. Cambodia grew 24%. Indonesia and India both grew steadily.
What France imported by product segment in 2025:
Footwear: €8.22 Billion (+2% when compared to 2024)
Leather Goods: €4.45 Billion (-4%)
Leather: €535 Million (+3%)
Leather Garments: €207 Million (+15%)
Gloves: €76 Million (+4%)
Raw Hides and Skins: €138 Million (-7%)
Miscellaneous: €111 Million (-8%)
Total: €13.74 Billion
Footwear is by far the largest import category at €8.22 billion which is 60% of everything France imported in 2025. France is a massive consumer of imported shoes and the overwhelming majority of those come from Asia.
Leather goods follows at €4.5 billion which is 32% of total imports.
Leather garments posted the sharpest growth of any product segment at 15%, reaching €207 million.
Raw hides and skins were the biggest decliner at 7% down.
This is just the import side of the story. In the next article we will look at where France sells its leather, which countries are buying and which markets slowed down in 2025. After that we will go product segment-wise , starting with raw hides and skins, all the way through to leather garments.
Source: Alliance France Cuir
