August 25, 2026

Top Leather Exporting Countries in the World 2026

Major Global Leather and Leather Product Exporters

Quick answer: There’s no single “top leather exporter” the answer depends on the category. Italy leads finished leather apparel exports by value. China leads overall leather goods manufacturing and volume. Brazil leads raw hide exports. India and Pakistan lead in leather garment craftsmanship at scale. Each country specializes in a different stage of the same global supply chain, from raw hide to finished jacket.

Top 7 Leather Apparel Exporters (Verified 2024 Trade Data)

Italy: Leads leather apparel exports by value among individual countries, driven by luxury craftsmanship and brand premium rather than volume. Italian leather goods exports reached nearly €10 billion in 2025 .
India: Second-largest, spanning garments, footwear, and saddlery/harness goods. India’s leather, leather products and footwear exports stood at $4.75 billion in FY26 .
France: Third-largest, strong in luxury handbags and fashion leather accessories.
Pakistan: Fourth-largest, with leather garments its fastest-growing export segment. Pakistan’s leather sector generated nearly $740 million in export revenue in the first ten months of FY26 .
Germany: Fifth-largest, plus a major processor for automotive and furniture leather.
China: A massive overall leather-goods manufacturer, though it ranks lower specifically in the apparel classification versus footwear and bags. China’s leather industry exports reached $32.75 billion between January-May 2026 .
Turkey: Serves European and Middle Eastern markets with finished leather and apparel.

Italy’s lead here isn’t about volume it’s price per unit. A relatively small quantity of Italian leather goods can be worth more than a much larger volume of mass-manufactured product elsewhere, reflecting decades of tannery specialization and brand concentration.

Top 20 Leather Trade Powers: The Full Global Picture

Rank	Country	Primary Trade Role	Export Value	Notes
1	China	Leather goods & footwear manufacturing	$32.75 billion (Jan-May 2026)	Largest overall exporter of finished leather goods by value once footwear and bags are included
2	Italy	Finished leather apparel & luxury goods	~€10 billion (2025)	Leads leather apparel exports by value; benchmark for luxury tannery craftsmanship
3	India	Leather apparel, footwear, saddlery	$4.75 billion (FY26)	Second within the leather-apparel category specifically; also a top raw bovine hide source
4	Brazil	Raw hides & semi-processed leather	$523 million (raw hides, 2025)	World’s largest raw hide exporter, built on the largest cattle industry globally
5	United States	Raw hides	$393 million (raw hides, 2025)	Second within raw hide exports specifically, shipped mainly to China and Europe
6	Pakistan	Leather apparel	$740 million (10 months, FY26)	Fourth within the leather-apparel category specifically; leather garments its fastest-growing segment
7	France	Luxury leather goods	~$47 billion (prepared leather)	Third within the leather-apparel category specifically; strong in premium handbags and accessories
8	Germany	Prepared/industrial leather	~$1.2 billion (prepared leather)	Major exporter and processor for automotive interiors, furniture, and apparel
9	Vietnam	Footwear & garment manufacturing	$11.73 billion (leather & footwear, Jan-May 2026)	Fast-growing manufacturing hub, also a top importer of raw and finished leather
10	Spain	Footwear & finished leather	~$48 billion (prepared leather)	Strong European producer across footwear, accessories, and upholstery leather
11	Turkey	Finished leather & apparel	~$35-55 million/month (leather articles)	Serves European and Middle Eastern markets; ranked among top leather apparel exporters
12	Argentina	Raw hides & wet-blue leather	$144 million (raw hides, 2025)	Major cattle-industry-driven exporter of raw and semi-processed hide
13	Mexico	Footwear & leather goods	Significant regional exporter	Benefits from proximity to the US market; large regional footwear manufacturing base
14	Hungary	Leather goods manufacturing	Top EU finished articles exporter	One of the top individual-country exporters of finished leather articles in the EU
15	Portugal	Footwear & leather goods	$21 billion (2024)	Established European footwear and leather-goods manufacturing base
16	South Africa	Raw hides, finished leather, upholstery	Leading African exporter	The leading leather exporter on the African continent
17	Russia	Raw hides & semi-processed leather	Significant regional exporter	Exports light leather from sheep and goat hides mainly to Europe and Asia
18	South Korea	Leather goods, fashion-driven demand	~$15 billion (prepared leather)	Smaller exporter, with strong domestic fashion-brand consumption of leather
19	Netherlands	Footwear & re-export hub	Fastest-growing footwear exporter	One of the fastest-growing leather footwear exporters in recent trade data
20	Indonesia	Footwear manufacturing	~$18 billion (prepared leather)	Major regional footwear manufacturing base, alongside significant leather imports

Where the Raw Material Comes From

India: The largest source of raw bovine hides by volume in the most recent comparable dataset.

China: The second-largest source of raw bovine hides, feeding both domestic manufacturing and export tanneries .

Brazil: The third-largest raw hide source, and the top raw hide exporter by trade value .

United States, Pakistan, and Mexico: Each hold meaningful shares of global raw bovine hide supply, though production leadership and export leadership don’t always belong to the same countries.

Which Country Makes the Best Leather?

Italy: The benchmark for luxury craftsmanship, Tuscan tanneries are widely regarded as producing the finest premium finishing and dyeing in the world .

Pakistan: Pakistan is the world’s 4th largest exporter of leather apparel, with a unique advantage that no other country has. Nearly 37% of its annual hide supply comes from just one day “Eid-ul-Adha” when approximately 7.47 million animals are sacrificed across the country, generating over $31 million worth of hides in a single day. Pakistan’s leather sector employs over 500,000 workers and operates through more than 800 tanneries, concentrated in Sialkot Lahore, and Karachi which are known for their leather garment craftsmanship.

India: India is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of leather apparel after Italy, with total leather exports reaching $4.75 billion. India’s strength lies in its diversified manufacturing base, producing everything from footwear and garments to saddlery and accessories, supported by established training institutes and a large skilled workforce.

Brazil and Argentina: Known for consistently strong, less-blemished raw hides from grass-fed cattle, which is why so much of the world’s finishing industry sources raw material from South America.

Underneath all of this, “best leather” ultimately comes down to hide grade more than country of origin a full-grain hide tanned well anywhere will outlast a corrected-grain hide from a “prestige” country.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which country produces the most leather?

By raw bovine hide volume, India, China, and Brazil lead. By finished leather-apparel export value, Italy leads. By overall leather-goods manufacturing scale, China leads. There’s no single answer without specifying the metric .

Which country has the best leather in the world?

Italy for luxury-grade finishing and craftsmanship; Pakistan and India for high-quality, value-driven leather apparel manufacturing at scale. Quality depends more on hide grade than country of origin alone.

What are the top 10 leather exporting countries?

China, Italy, India, Brazil, the United States, Pakistan, France, Germany, Vietnam, and Spain each leading a different specific category within the trade .

Is China the largest leather producer?

China is the largest manufacturer and exporter of finished leather goods overall and is widely cited as the largest leather producer by volume, though “producer” can mean raw hides, tanned leather, or manufactured goods depending on the source .

Is Pakistan a major leather exporter?

Yes. Pakistan ranks among the top individual-country exporters of leather apparel, supported by an extensive tannery base concentrated in Sialkot and Lahore, with leather garments as its fastest-growing export category .

Final Thoughts

The bottom line: Brazil, the US, and Argentina feed the raw material stage. China, Vietnam, and Indonesia dominate manufacturing at scale. Italy, France, Hungary, and Portugal own the high-value and finished-goods end. Pakistan and India carve out a specific strength in leather apparel and jackets, combining large hide supply with decades of garment-manufacturing experience. Knowing which stage a “top exporter” claim describes is the difference between an accurate picture of the leather trade and a misleading one.