A new issue of our exclusive Leather Market Intelligence went live on the website on February 7. Report by Leatherbiz.

The image shows leather on display at a recent industry event in Asia.

This time, the newsletter draws a contrast between the different challenges facing leather manufacturers in Europe (excluding those supplying luxury brands) and those in parts of the world where energy is cheaper, labour is more available and more affordable, and the demands of bureaucracy and regulation are fewer.

It links this to the war in Ukraine. It says some important leather-producing countries “view their relationships with Russia in a completely different light” than the position most European countries have taken, adding that this is often for historical and cultural reasons.

“In any case,” it continues, “the leather industry in some countries now has access to much cheaper energy, is struggling with fewer regulations and bureaucracy and, above all, has the opportunity to take over market share in Russia.”

It said these factors are now putting “an extreme strain” on medium-sized companies in Europe.

“Europe is no longer the centre of the world anyway,” the report concludes, “even if not everyone is fully aware of this yet.”