Last year, Turkey exported leather and leather products worth US$ 1.9 billion, indicating a surge of 16.4% compared to 2012, according to data released by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters Association (ITKIB).
According to the TIM Export Data of December 2013, Turkey exported $1.9 billion worth of leather and leather goods in 2013, and $1.6 billion in 2012.
Turkish leather and leather goods exports accounted for 1.3% of the overall exports made in Turkey in 2013, and the highest export were from leather shoes with exports worth $730 million, indicating a rise of 32.4% from 2012.
Also, Russia was the main destination for Turkish exports of leather and leather products with $508 million worth of leather to Russia during 2013, accounting for 26.7% of the total Turkish leather exports.
Italy ranked second with $131.6 million worth of exports in 2013, accounting for 6.9% of the overall leather exports from the country, followed by Germany with $114.6 million.
Also, the majority of leather and leather products were exported to the EU, as the region accounted for 33.9% of total leather exports from Turkey last year.
