French Leather Industry Exports Ease 2% to €9.22 Billion in First Half 2026

France’s leather sector presented a study in contrasts in the first half of 2026. Total exports reached €9.22 billion between January and June, down 2% from the same period in 2025, even as imports slipped 5% to €6.51 billion. Beneath the modest headline decline, individual segments diverged sharply — a reminder that “the leather industry” is really a federation of very different businesses, each riding its own cycle.

The data, compiled by the Economic Observatory of Alliance France Cuir, spans raw hides and skins, leather, footwear, leather goods, gloves, and leather garments. The weakest link was the very top of the value chain: French exports of raw hides and skins fell 14% to €90.9 million (from €105.1 million), while imports in that segment dropped 26% to €56.6 million. When raw material trade contracts this fast, it signals both softer domestic processing demand and cautious global buying.

By contrast, the tanning and leather sector — the industrial heart of the industry — grew exports 11% to €126.2 million (from €113.8 million), with imports also up 7% to €293.1 million. That is a genuinely encouraging sign: French tanners are finding foreign buyers even as the broader trade softens.

Footwear exports held broadly stable at €2.60 billion, essentially flat year-on-year, while imports declined 7% to €3.80 billion — narrowing the sector’s footwear trade gap. Leather goods, France’s most iconic category, eased 2% to €6.21 billion (from €6.37 billion), with imports also down 2% to €2.18 billion. Gloves inched up 2% to €14.97 million, and leather garments posted the strongest percentage gain, rising 12% to €137.8 million (from €123.3 million), though imports jumped 19% to €107.8 million.

Geography tells its own story. Among France’s five largest export destinations, China remained the biggest market with exports up 1% to €1.35 billion. The United States fell 10% to €1.09 billion, reflecting softer American luxury demand, while shipments to Italy held steady at €937.9 million. The standout was Hong Kong, which surged 20% to €773.6 million — a possible re-export hub effect worth watching. Japan, by contrast, declined 7% to €726.4 million.

On imports, Italy stayed the leading source at €1.78 billion (up 4%), while Chinese imports fell 9% to €1.32 billion and Vietnamese supply held at about €1.02 billion.

What does this mean for the industry? The tanning segment’s resilience is the bright spot — proof that French leather manufacturing retains international competitiveness. But the weakness in raw hides and the softness in leather goods exports point to demand fragility at both ends of the chain, especially in the US. The Hong Kong spike offers a silver lining, though its durability depends on wider Asian re-export dynamics.

Leathernews.org notes it will examine each segment in detail in follow-up reporting. For now, the first half of 2026 reads as a mixed but manageable performance — stable where it counts most, under pressure where global consumer confidence is thinnest.

Source: Leathernews.org