CHENNAI LEATHER MARKET - OCTOBER 2015

CHENNAI LEATHER MARKET

V.M. Khaleelur Rahman

Chennai leather market is slowly improving. Some exporters of leather and leather products showed interest for some regular items like EI tanned goat upper and lining leathers. Tanners say that some business was concluded at slightly lower prices. While 4/7 sq. ft. Run was sold at around Rs.90, A Lining was sold at around Rs.48 per sq. ft. Local items such as Rejection and Langda were sold at around Rs.30 and 25 per sq. ft. respectively. But volume of business done was meagre. Goods are available aplenty in the market. 

Wet blue goat and sheep skins and hides are also slow in movements. 

Many tanners and exporters have either stopped or curtailed their purchases in raw centres throughout the country. Prices of raw hides and skins have gone down considerably – more than Rs.100 per piece. But in some raw centres of Tamil Nadu where quality is good price reductions are not so much. 

Exporters of leather products such as leather goods, shoes and garments are having a reduced volume of business at considerably lower prices for exports whereas leather exporters are in a tight corner finding it difficult to sell their items. Leathers are not easily moving both at home and abroad. Only some tanners seem to have done some small contracts for exports at around US$ 2.40 for Uppers and US$ 1.50 for Linings in S/C goat leathers. It is possible that some big exporters might have done some good business. 

There were also reports of some small business for account of Japanese customers in sheep Upper, Suede and Rejection leathers at almost unchanged prices. Tanners are offering only regular items in both sheep and goat leathers. A tanner said that there was an enquiry for bigger sheep leathers i.e. 6 sq. ft. and up in ABC but he could not supply it due to unavailability of the same. Procuring bigger skins is not an easy task particularly at the present dull market. 

Quotations of exporters are as follows  

                                            S/C OR F/C GOAT LEATHERS 

Material	Size/sq. ft.	Substance	Selection	Price US$ per sq. ft. C&F
Goat upper leather	4/7	0.6/0.8 mm	ABC	2.40
Goat milled leather	4/7	0.6/0.8 mm	D/E – G/H	1.70 – 1.60
Goat suede leather	4/7	0.6/0.8 mm	All Suede	2.30
Goat lining leather	3/5 or 4/6	0.5/0.7 mm	TR-1/2/3	1.50
	5/7	0.6/0.8 mm	TR-1/2/3	1.60

 

                                                 F/C SHEEP LEATHERS

Material	Size/sq.ft.	Substance	Selection	Price US$ per sq. ft. C&F
Sheep upper leather	4/7	0.6/0.8 mm	ABC	2.60
Sheep Upper leather	6/9	0.8/1.00 mm	ABC	2.75
Sheep lining leather	4/7	0.5/0.7 mm	TR-1/TR-2/TR-3	1.70/1.60/1.50
Sheep lining leather	5/8 5.5 and up	0.6/0.8 mm 0.8/0.9 mm	TR-1/TR-2/TR-3 -do-	1.75/1.65/1.55 1.90/1.80/1.70

Quotations for Japan are as follows: 

F/C sheep suede leather

All Suede 4/6 sq. ft. JY 240, 5 sq. ft. and up JY 250 and 5.5 and up JY 260

LDT 4/6 sq. ft. JY 185, 5 sq. ft. up JY 195 and 5.5 sq. ft. and up JY 210

Rejection 4/7 sq. ft. JY150 per sq. ft. 

The Lineapelle leather fair held from 6^th to 11^th September 2015 at Milan, Italy attracted quite a large number of people from different countries including India. Many Tamil Nadu tanners and exporters also visited it to make an on the spot study of the present trends and happenings and promote their business. To the question if it was successful in concluding good business, a visitor said that “it was successful to some extent in promoting our products and contacting potential customers”

(VMK in Indian Leather, October 2015)