Colombian leather exports continue to fall
The data shows that the leather sector’s trade balance was in deficit between 2025 and 2022, with exports decreasing at an average annual rate of 8.5%, while imports grew at an average annual rate of 4.2%. The largest deficit in this period was recorded in 2022, totalling 536 million US dollars.
Last year, Colombian leather exports fell by 7% and 5.3%, on a comparable basis to the previous year and 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, imports rose by 45.2% in 2022, year-over-year.
The downward trajectory has persisted into 2023. In June, the country’s leather exports were down by 20.6%, as compared to the same period of last year, and even imports decreased in this month by 5.3% year-over-year.
The MinCIT also reported that in the twelve months to June, employment in the sector dropped by 5.3%, with production falling by 14.1%, on a comparable basis to the previous twelve-month period.
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