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In the May 16 issue of Market Intelligence, the report makes it clear that there is still no recovery in leather demand and there are still large quantities of raw and semi-finished hides without buyers.

It says: “This is not the end of the crisis; any major improvement is still a long way off and it will not happen from one day to the next.” But it insists that signs of possible improvement are beginning to emerge.

These include the very clear signal that the automotive industry is slowly starting to “bury its big vegan adventure for interiors in the premium segment”, the report says. Car brands simply haven’t been able to find a successful alternative material to leather.

It goes on to say that we can now hope for something similar in parts of the footwear industry. In many current discussions in the shoe industry the question of whether leather might be given more space again has been at the “top of the agenda”, Market Intelligence concludes.