According to the Department of Foreign Trade, exports of Brazilian hides and skins reached $248 million in February, a new monthly record and an increase of over 31% compared to February last year.
The positive performance is relevant to how the Brazilian trade balance is steadily improving, says the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).
Recently, Ricardo Schaefer, executive secretary of MDIC, emphasised the importance of leather so the Ministry’s goals and objectives could be reached in 2014. José Fernando Bello, executive president of the Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industries (CICB), says a great set of actions is being promoted in order to surpass numbers of exports and exceed the sector’s economic expectations.
"Commercial promotion at an international level has reflected onto concrete results for Brazilian tanneries and the country’s economy", says Bello.
The news of increased leather exports comes just before two of the sector’s main events: Fimec, from March 18 and 21, and APLF MM&T in Hong Kong from March 31 to April 2, where Brazil will be the Focus Country. A series of marketing, communication and sales initiatives is in the agenda for the Hong Kong show, seeking an even greater promotion of Brazilian leather among the world’s largest and most demanding buyers.
