Moratorium will not solve the problem of leather deficiency

A week ago, the Russian government announced a moratorium on the export of leather semi-finished products from the country. How did shoe retailers react to this decision?

“In the period of fluctuations in the exchange rate, prices grew exponentially, and the raw materials on the market became less and less. Obviously, foreigners exported tons of raw materials due to their low cost, ”says Ilya Teper, general director of the Novosibirsk factory S-Tep. “We welcomed the moratorium, it will have, first of all, a positive impact on production factories traditionally working with Russian leather.” At the same time, Teper noted that at his factory the share of domestic raw materials is small. He does not exclude that due to the rising cost of imported raw materials, some of the shoe manufacturers may reorient themselves to domestic-made leather. The cost of the treated leather, according to him, has grown from 12 to 18 rubles per 1 sq. dm, compared to last year. At the same time, imported leather has become more expensive by 20 – 30%. In this situation, it became unprofitable for most domestic manufacturers to order foreign raw materials.

Due to the shortage of raw materials in Russia, said the Director General of the Russian Union of Kozhevnikov and Shoe Workers Alexander Andrunakievich, the prices for available raw materials, as well as for ready-made leather shoes, are growing at a galloping pace. He explained that the volume of Russian raw materials has been declining in recent years due to a reduction in livestock, an increase in the export of semi-finished products and the inability to import semi-finished products (some countries have imposed restrictions on the export of raw materials, and it is economically unprofitable to buy European and American raw materials due to high prices). In the form of a tanned semi-finished product, according to the Russian Union of Tanners and Shoemakers, up to 30% of the country's best resources in terms of raw materials are exported, while the capacities of tanneries are less than 50% loaded.

According to the general opinion of market operators, the export ban will not solve the deficit problem, because high-quality leather is still produced in too small volumes and a limited assortment that is suitable for the production of either everyday men's shoes, or classic winter or special shoes. An acute shortage is felt in the supply of high quality material for the women's model line, whose market share reaches 70%.

The government of Russia has already made a decision to ban the export of raw materials; it has been in force from October 1 last year to April 1 2015. For this period, according to the department, the positive results of the ban on the development of leather and related industries were noted.

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Recall that in Russia there are at least 18 tanneries - in the Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Moscow, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk and Tambov regions, there is also a factory in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Rostov-on-Don and Yaroslavl.