The Spanish leather industry is experiencing a two-speed recovery in 2024. While the footwear sector shows promising growth, the tanning segment is facing significant challenges. This contrasting performance highlights the complexities within Spain’s leather supply chain.

Data from the Madrid Customs Agency reveal that Spain’s leather exports declined across all processing stages from January to October 2024. Specifically:

• Raw leather exports dropped by 7.7%.
• Semi-finished leather exports plummeted by 32.4%.
• Finished leather exports decreased by 6.1%.

These declines mirror the trends in leather imports. Purchases of raw and semi-finished leather from abroad fell by 27.9% and 21.1%, respectively.

However, there was a 4% increase in finished leather imports, driven by a substantial 19.6% rise in imports from Italy. This growth suggests that Spanish manufacturers may be turning to high-quality leather from other countries to meet market demands

In contrast, Spain’s footwear industry has shown resilience and growth in the first ten months of 2024. The sector recorded a 10.9% increase in export volume and a 7.8% rise in export value.

This positive momentum is largely due to robust demand from key European markets:

• Exports to Italy increased by 42.2%.
• Sales to Germany grew by 5.9%.
• Exports to France declined by 5.8%.

Spain’s footwear imports also grew by 7.4% in value, with notable contributions from:

• China (+7%)
• Vietnam (+32.3%)
• Indonesia (+17.2%)
• Italy (+6.7%)

This import growth highlights Spain’s reliance on Asian manufacturers for affordable footwear and Italy for premium products.