Brazilian leather exports fall as China and US demand weaken

Brazil’s leather exporters booked US$89.5 million in May 2026, a 7.3% drop from May 2025 and 5.1% below April, as both value and volume softened across the month. The latest figures, compiled from Secretaria de Comércio Exterior data by the Centro das Indústrias de Curtumes do Brasil, point to a market that lost momentum on several fronts at once.

The slide was visible across the first five months of 2026 as well. Brazilian leather exports reached US$450.8 million from January through May, down 7.8% year over year. China remained the biggest destination, taking 29.3% of Brazil’s leather exports in that period, but both its import value and area declined. CICB links that slowdown to a still cautious Chinese manufacturing environment, especially in footwear and upholstery, two sectors that sit close to the raw material chain leatherworkers know well. Finished leather remained Brazil’s largest export category in the May reporting period, but that segment also saw a sizeable drop in value and area.

The United States was Brazil’s second-largest leather market and, on average, buys nearly 15% of the country’s leather exports, mostly finished leather. CICB has treated that market as strategically important for months, including a Washington mission in September 2025 to press for alternatives to a 50% tariff on Brazilian products. Italy stayed important because of its luxury and tanning links, while Vietnam ranked fourth and fell more modestly, reinforcing its role as a manufacturing hub for footwear and leather goods. CICB describes Vietnam as one of the world’s main leather importers, a sign that production and sourcing remain concentrated in a few key Asian and Western markets.

April had already shown the same strain. Brazilian leather exports totaled US$94.3 million that month, while U.S. imports of Brazilian leather fell 21.6% year over year and Italy’s dropped 26.9%. That makes May look less like a one-off dip and more like a run of weakening demand that has been building through the spring.

For leathercrafters, the story sits far beyond a customs ledger. When factory buyers in China slow down, when furniture and automotive demand in the U.S. cools, and when luxury-linked orders in Italy ease, the pressure can move through tanneries and distributors into the stock that lands on a cutting bench. That can affect price, availability, minimum-order pressure, and lead times for the finished leather makers actually buy, even as Brazil’s export totals keep sliding at the top of the chain.