The biggest loss in exports in the first half of the year in the leather industry Image Source: EDDİM

The leather and leather products industry, which is among the labour-intensive industries whose competitive position in exports has weakened due to the increase in exchange rates falling behind inflation figures, is going through an economically difficult period. While it was stated that the industry experienced a 26.7 percent loss in exports in the first half of 2024, Erkan Zandar, President of the Aegean Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association (EDDİM) made a statement on the subject and noted that their general expenses increased from 40 percent to 63 percent in the current outlook. Zandar indicated that with the combination of the increase in costs and the decrease in demand, their exports, which were 1 billion 23 million dollars in the first half of 2023, decreased to 750 million dollars in the same period of 2024, and that they were the industry that experienced the biggest loss in exports in the first half of 2024.

“The dollar exchange rate should be 38 TL, the euro exchange rate should be 42 TL”

Arguing that the current dollar exchange rate should be 38 TL and the euro exchange rate should be 42 TL to minimise the export decline in the leather industry, Erkan Zandar emphasised that there is no profitability in the industry to cover the additional costs that will arise after January 2025.

Zandar relayed that while the average purchase per person in the shoe market was between 4-5 pairs per year for many years, meanwhile it is expected to be 2.65 pairs in 2024; he drew attention to the serious decrease in demand. Zandar relayed that there was a loss in the export markets; 20 percent in Germany, 25 percent in Italy and 70 percent in Russia, and said that these rates were 15 percent in France, 17 percent in the United Kingdom and 26 percent in Romania. He disclosed: “This means that there is a demand problem in the markets where we sell mainly manufactured goods. Of course, the slowdown in these markets also has an effect, and when our inability to keep prices is combined with our loss of power, this 26 percent contraction we are experiencing is quite normal”.

Erkan Zandar, President of the Aegean Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association (EDDİM) Image Source: EDDİM

“Exporters should definitely start their work on responsible production and green transformation now”

Erkan Zandar said that they expect a movement on the demand side starting from September 2024 and continued saying that demand is expected to rise to 2019 levels in Europe in March 2025 and that they need to spend the next 6 months doing their homework to turn this change in demand into an opportunity. He emphasised that exporters should definitely start their work on both responsible production and green transformation now to appeal to especially mid- and high-end brands: “Yes, we are not a very cheap country from now on, but today in Europe and many countries of the world, there will continue to be demands for mid- and high-end products and we should be the country that produces these products. In other words, as I said, we need to make responsible production, catch the green transformation and definitely implement the necessary changes.”

Footwear is the clear leader with 471 million USD in exports

While the Turkish leather and leather products industry made 750 million USD worth of exports in the first half of 2024, the shoe industry realised 471 million USD of this export. The finished leather industry made 113.5 million USD worth of exports, while the saddlery sector brought 110 million USD worth of foreign currency to Türkiye. The leather apparel industry left the first half of 2024 behind with 55 million USD worth of exports.

The top five countries in leather and leather product exports were Germany with 61 million USD, Italy with 53.6 million USD, Iraq with 50.8 million USD, Russia with 36.8 million USD and France with 31 million USD.

Footwear is the clear leader with 471 million USD in exports Image Source: EDDİM

Aegean leather manufacturers experienced a 16 percent decrease in exports

The Aegean Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association exported 97.6 million dollars in the first half of 2023 and brought 82 million dollars of foreign currency to Türkiye in the same period of 2024. The decrease in EDDİM’s exports remained at 16 percent.

In the leather and leather product exports from the Aegean Region, the shoe industry received a 61 percent share of the total exports with an amount of 50 million dollars. While the export of finished leather and furs increased by 31 percent to 14 million dollars, the saddlery industry showed an export performance of 9 million dollars and the leather apparel industry showed an export performance of 8 million dollars.