São Paulo – The Brazilian leather export industry has increased leather sales to the Arab world. In the accumulated result up to October this year, sales climbed 24%, to 451 tonnes, as against 364 tonnes in the same period in 2010. Revenues rose from US$ 4.2 million to US$ 5.5 million, growth of 30%. However, shipments represented little when compared to total leather exports from Brazil: US$ 1.7 billion from January to last month, according to figures disclosed by the Confederation of Brazilian Hides and Skins Industries (CICB).
The exports figures to the Arab market were supplied by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade and show that Tunisia was the main buyer of Brazilian leather in the region. The Tunisians imported 335.3 tonnes of the product from January to October. There was a reduction in volume as against last year, when, also up to October, sales to the country totalled 335.7 tonnes. The leather sold, however, was more expensive, as revenues grew from US$ 4.2 million to US$ 4.9 million.
Tunisia has a large manufacturing industry, with production of shoes, artefacts and a great number of garment producers, including makers of leather products. There are both European factories – which use the country as an export platform -, and local businesses, as is the case with Malga Chaussures, headquartered in Bem Arous industrial district, producing 2,200 pairs of shoes a day, according to figures on the company site.
Apart from Tunisia, another Arab buyer of Brazilian leather this year was Egypt, with 111 tonnes and revenues of US$ 481,000. The Egyptian market, in fact, has significantly increased its purchases, which totalled 27 tonnes from January to October 2010 and US$ 16,000. The growth was 311% in volume shipped. The United Arab Emirates and Lebanon also imported from Brazil, but the levels were much lower.
Brazil should increase its leather exports this year, as from January to October the value of sales has already equalled the total for the whole of last year: US$ 1.7 billion. The situation is not the same, however, when talking about volumes. According to CICB, shipments up to October totalled 299,000 tonnes of leather. In 2010, in the same months, shipments had reached 356 tonnes.
*Translated by Mark Ament
