Europe’s tanners predict that full-year results for 2020 will be between 30% and 35% down on the figures for 2019.

After this year’s annual general meeting in Vienna at the start of September, industry body COTANCE said the leather sector was now “slowly recovering” from the worst of the effects of the covid-19 pandemic. But because most tanneries had to halt operations during weeks of lockdown in the first half of the year, COTANCE said turnover had “almost totally melted away” before the summer.

It said its members were reporting “positive signs” in all segments of the leather market but that tanners believe this recovery to be fragile and needful of further support from governments around Europe.

“Support is expected from EU policies such as The Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Farm To Fork strategy,” COTANCE said. “However, since the EU multi-billion-euro recovery plan is to be channelled through national and regional governments, it will be up to COTANCE member associations to ensure that the leather industry is not left behind in public support.”