Full-year figures for 2022 showed that hide exports from the US fell by 11.8% in volume and by 9.3% in value compared to the previous year, writes Leatherbiz.

Figures for the first four months of 2023 show that, so far, no upturn has materialised this year.

In the period from January to April, US tanners, traders and packers exported just over 9.6 million hides, bringing in revenues of $375.9 million.

These numbers represent a further fall in volume of 10.8% and a decline of value of 16.1% compared to the same months in 2022.

In the January-April period in 2023, there were exports of 8.5 million wet-salted hides, down by 10%, with a value of $264 million, down by 16%.

The corresponding figures for wet blue, were exports of just over 1.1 million across the four months, down by 12%, and revenues of $111.8 million, down by 17%.