Exports of hides and skins in December, presented by SECEX (Secretary of Foreign Trade) of the Ministry of Economy, totaled US$121.5 million. This is 17.6% higher than the same month in 2020, when US$103.3 million were exported. The value is also 20.6% higher than in November when exports totaled US$100.7 million.
As for the total exported in square meters, Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB) reports that in December 12.7 million were shipped. This is 24.1% lower than the same month in 2020. It is, however, 21.0% higher than the November total of 10.5 million square meters.
The year ended with total exports of US$1.41 billion, which is 44.9% higher than 2020. In terms of area, 2021 was just 0.5% higher, with 172.3 million square meters.
Overall, 2021 was a year of recovery for exports after six years of consecutive declines. Since hide and leather exports hit a record in 2014, there has been no growth in values. In terms of volume, positive periods were recorded in 2016 and 2017. That said, 2014 recorded the exports in terms of area, with around 211 million square meters sold.
The 44.9% growth this year is extremely important, although the problems reported in previous months persist: logistical bottlenecks, low and worrying demand, and high costs of inputs and the main feedstock.
Finally, as for the prices of leather types in 2021, there were improvements for all stages. This is particularly true for wet blue leather, which ended the year with an index 95.4% above the previous year. Among the leathers with higher added value, finished had an increase of 25.8% and semi-finished of 39.2%.
