Exports of Italian leather articles fall 7.5% in the first five months of 2025

In the first five months of 2025, exports of Italian leather articles fell 7.5% more than 4 billion euros. Export sales represent more than 85% of the annual income of the industry, and had published a slowdown of almost 9% in 2024.

Regional data show a 1.5% decrease in exports to EU markets, and a more significant drop in sales to markets that are not from the EU, where exports fell 10.6%. Exports of Italian leather articles outside the EU are characterized by higher average prices and generate almost two thirds of total export income.

Exports to the two main European markets in Italy, France and Germany (first and fifth respectively in the classification of destination markets by value), registered contrasting trends: exports to France fell 3.8%, while those of Germany increased 1.1%.

Among the countries that are not from the EU, positive results were achieved in the Middle East, where exports grew by 26.4%in the first five months of 2025, thanks mainly to higher sales to the EAU (35.7%more) and Qatar (more than 49.9%). Exports to Türkiye also increased significantly by 16.7%. On the contrary, the negative results were recorded in the Far East (17.3%less), the previous USSR (less than 4.3%in general, but with heavier losses in Russia and Ukraine), and in the United Kingdom (13%less). Exports to Switzerland continued to fall and lost 39% in value, a phenomenon that is mainly due to logistics/distribution reasons. Exports to North America were almost along with last year (0.9%in value), although those of Canada fell 13%, while exports to the US. UU. They received a modest increase of 2.1%.

In terms of types of products, leather products exports lost only 3.6% in value, while those of leather substitutes fell by 15.8% more significant. The bags were, with much, the most popular article, generating an export income of € 2.83 billion in the first five months of 2025, and represented almost 70%of total exports, although the figure was 9%below 2024. Exports of luggage luggage and travel goods fell 12.4%, while small leather products lost only 2.4%, with genuine leather items that grew 3.7%. Belt exports increased by 4.7%.

The forecasts for the second half of the year are not too optimistic, because it is likely that current difficulties will be aggravated by the new Trump rates in exports to the United States, whose impact is currently difficult to quantify. In any case, it is likely that exports of Italian leather articles in 2025 register a second consecutive recession.