Brazilian leather manufacturer Krumenauer has said 15% of its output this year is staying in Brazil to supply shoe manufacturers in the domestic market, writes Leatherbiz.

Krumenauer specialises in making veg-tanned leather from Brazilian wet white and veg-retanned leather from US wet blue for manufacturers of shoes, leathergoods, belts and craft leather projects.

Commercial director, Joel Krummenauer (some members of the family, which arrived in Brazil from Germany in the 1850s, use a double-m while others use the same spelling as the company name), has said 95% of production went for export last year, with just 5% destined for the domestic market, but that 2022 had brought a change.

He explained that prolonged lockdowns in China and wider supply chain and transportation difficulties had led brands to increase their sourcing of finished products such as footwear from Brazil. This has increased local demand for the company’s leather.

“The footwear factories here are pretty busy and have good orders at least until November or December,” he said.