The future of the Italian tanning industry considering the recent geopolitical crisis

The war in Ukraine—and its disturbing long-term prospects—risks further exacerbating the historic need for raw materials (raw and semifinished) of Italian tanneries, already plagued by years of competition, sometimes unfair, made up of customs barriers and limitations of various types that have stolen, especially in recent years, a lot of raw materials from the free market. Given the greater availability of raw hides, the tanneries of non-European countries (Asian and South American) could take advantage of this to reduce our competitiveness on international markets. The foreign procurement of raw hides accounts for over 90% of the needs of Italian tanneries, and the conflict area accounts for approximately 3.5% of total purchases from abroad. Ukraine is one of the main suppliers of semifinished leathers, including Russia and Belarus, and the Italian purchase of raw and semifinished leathers is equal to 70% of the total, while the export of Italian finished leathers to these incident countries alone accounts for 1% of the total. The situation is so worrying that the most important Italian association of the tanning industry, the Unione Nazionale Industria Conciaria (UNIC), in accordance with the European trade confederation, proposed asking the European Commission to limit the export of raw hides/European semifinished products outside the EU borders. Faced with such a disturbing scenario, it is clear that the problem of raw leather supply must be addressed at the EU level with management that takes into account the different production capacities of individual member countries, providing for adequate investment and increasingly implementing the principles of circular economy and technological innovation to the leather industry.