This year’s All-China Leather Exhibition (ACLE) is the 25th edition of this trade fair that held its first edition in Beijing in 1998. It will take place from 3 – 5 September at the New International Expo Centre in Pudong, Shanghai. The event covers a total exhibition area of 80,500 square metres and 7 halls of international and domestic tanneries, materials, machinery and chemical suppliers. 

At ACLE, the whole supply chain for the leather and footwear manufacturing industries is represented with a wide array of leathers, components, chemicals and machinery on display. Many of the world’s leading chemical suppliers are present at ACLE and use it as a platform to launch new products and technological developments direct to their target market in China. In last edition, more than 31,000 visitors passed through the fair, reconfirming the importance of ACLE as a key sourcing event. 

Despite slack demand for leather throughout the world’s manufacturing hubs and a slowdown in consumer demand for leather goods, accessories and footwear in general due to a flagging world economy, ACLE’s performance in 2024 was a cause for optimism in the leather industry that demand could soon improve. 

ACLE is well-established as a key business platform to supply China with the raw hides, semi-finished leather that its industry requires to continue functioning as well as the specialty chemicals from the world’s leading producers.  

Many domestic companies also exhibit so that they can be in contact with buyers from the main manufacturing provinces of China, and who make up the vast majority of buyers in the fair.  

The lead-up to ACLE 2025 

The backdrop to ACLE 2025 has hardly changed since last year. Demand for leather and consumer goods in Western economies remains subdued even though inflation has fallen mainly due to more manageable energy prices, mortgage rates and food prices.  

On the geopolitical front, the conflict in Ukraine continues; instability still reigns in the Middle East and there is still a latent threat to commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea. Even though these conflicts could be resolved this year and thus lift much of the uncertainty being generated, there is now an increased risk of widespread tariffs that could prejudice global trade flows. 

The incoming Trump administration in the US has chosen import tariffs on foreign goods ostensibly to reduce the US negative trade balance with its major trade partners. These are China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union. It is still early days but retaliatory tariffs could be in the offing if President Trump insists on this policy. 

The result? There could be an uptick in global inflation leading to higher interest rates and a slowdown in world trade. This is not good news for the leather and leather products sectors. 

On the bright side, however, the Trump administration appears determined to foment peace in Ukraine but the situation in the Middle East remains unclear. At least one aspect of geopolitical uncertainty as well as the massive sanctions on the Russian economy could be removed. 

China – the leather sector 

We noted last year that there was an abundance of raw hides available due to robust demand for beef on the international market. China and Japan are the main importers of beef and there is an excess of hides compared to the demand from Tanneries. Total hides produced from slaughter up to 45% are excess to requirements and are being sent to landfill. This really is a scandalous waste of valuable raw material! 

And what makes this situation even more critical is that raw leather prices are now at historical low levels, according to a Market Intelligence Report from Leatherbiz published at the beginning of February. 

With no problem with supply, it is the demand side of the equation which is faltering. Demand must pick up to spark a recovery in the leather industry, or tanners will be obliged to close as has been the case in Italy last year. 330 tanners and shoe manufacturers closed as orders slowed and costs ballooned due to new production and environmental regulations imposed by the EU Commission. 

On the other hand, the situation in China is somewhat brighter. Despite a fall of 15% in the production of light leather in H1 2024, the CLIA reported in an interview with Leatherbiz during ACLE 2024, that automotive leather production in China increased by 5%. 

A record number of new vehicles were sold in China in 2024 reaching over 31 million units. With an estimated 20% to 25%of this number being equipped with leather interior and / or seating, this is one sector where demand for leather is increasing. 

In addition, with consumer confidence and retail sales remaining buoyant, demand for consumer goods (including bags and fashion accessories) as well as big ticket items such as passenger cars, China offers more opportunities for Western suppliers to export to what has become the world’s biggest consumer marketplace. 

With Chinese brands taking a bigger market, share, low inflation and consumers willing to buy, China should be a key export market for manufacturing supplies. ACLE is the ideal platform from where to penetrate this huge market as its 25-year track record has demonstrated. 

Synthetics Challenge 

Leather haslets market share, especially in footwear manufacturing, to the variety of synthetic materials now available to manufacturers. Casual footwear and sneakers are the dominant styles globally although there has been a move to manufacture retro-sneaker styles using traditional leather in the last two years. Some observers say with a wry smile the fashion industry is “addicted” to polyester even though it is non-biodegradable and pollutes the environment as well as the oceans. 

Campaigns such as Leather Naturally have published facts about the qualities of leather such as its biodegradability, durability, longevity and how it forms part of the circular economy. The aim is to educate consumers into being more conscious when purchasing garments and footwear and not assume that the word “vegan” automatically means “environmental”, when most synthetics are bound together by polluting petrochemicals. 

There is still a long way to go to overcome the challenges and mendacious campaigns of the defenders of synthetics, but this is a slow process and the David of the leather industry must not yield to the Goliath of Big Oil. 

Conclusion 

With almost six months to go before the start of ACLE 2025, many things can happen – either to untangle the complex web of geopolitics complicated by the tariff policy hitting world trade. On the other hand, geopolitical and commercial knots could be pulled tighter, making solutions even less feasible in the short to medium term. 

Whatever the outcome, ACLE will still be China’s definitive event for the leather sector and opportunities are there for the taking for both exhibitors and buyers. 

For more information and registration, please visit www.aclechina.com