Data from China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) shows that the export of leather and products such as leather shoes and clothes in the first half of 2012 reached $33.461 billion with a year-on-year growth of 9.1%, the growth rate declined by 27.84% compared with 2011; while imports reached $3.76 billion yuan with a year-on-year growth of 9.3%, the growth rate declined by 20.24% compared with 2011. A trade surplus in the leather industry is valued at $29.702 billion, increasing by 9.05%. However, it seems that the leather industry in China has to say goodbye to an era of double digit growth in import and export. The CLIA say that 5 million people are employed in the leather and leather products industry in the country.
According to the CLIA, in 2012, export-oriented enterprises face more difficult problems than domestic focused companies as sales of export-oriented enterprises drops significantly together with export net profit. Besides, companies processing leather for international brands have suffered a decline in orders, which as a result, largely weakens their price negotiation ability.
