Brazilian leather export data, with a source and a date on every figure

This is the data companion to what wet blue is and verifying a leather exporter. For the wider entry point, see sourcing from Brazil.

Full year 2025

For the full year 2025, from the CICB December 2025 report, Brazil's leather exports were:

Measure	2025	Change vs 2024
Value (FOB)	US$ 1,132,336,650	−9.8%
Area	188,778,758 sqm	−2.9%
Weight	640,075,955 kg	+7.1%

Source: CICB, December 2025 report. Data year 2025 versus 2024.

The three measures did not move together, which is the first thing to notice. Value fell 9.8 percent while weight rose 7.1 percent. More leather left by weight, for less money. Area fell slightly, by 2.9 percent. A buyer reading only the headline value figure would miss that volumes held up or grew while price per unit came down.

One small revision is worth flagging so it does not trip anyone up. The December 2025 report gives the full-year value as US$ 1,132,336,650. The January 2026 report, issued later, shows US$ 1,132,342,770 for the same year, a difference of about six thousand dollars from a late customs adjustment. This page uses the December figure as the full-year number. The two are the same figure to any practical precision; they should not be quoted side by side as if they were two different results.

Breakdown by product type, 2025

CICB splits the full-year export value by product type. This is the breakdown that shows where wet blue sits relative to the other stages.

Product type	Value (FOB)	Share of value
Finished	US$ 530,582,239	47.5%
Wet blue	US$ 297,867,048	26.7%
Split wet blue	US$ 130,758,678	11.7%
Crust	US$ 104,667,301	9.4%
Salted	US$ 53,721,327	4.8%

Source: CICB, December 2025 report. Data year 2025.

Finished leather is the single largest category by value, at 47.5 percent. Wet blue on its own is 26.7 percent, and wet blue plus split wet blue, the two chrome-tanned semi-finished forms, together come to 38.4 percent. So a buyer looking for Brazilian wet blue is looking at more than a quarter of the country's leather export value in the wet blue line alone, and close to two-fifths once split wet blue is included.

Top destination markets, 2025

CICB also reports the leading destination markets by value for the full year. An important limit applies to this table, stated up front: these are shares of all leather exports, not of wet blue specifically. CICB reports top countries for total leather and, separately, the product-type shares above, but it does not cross the two into a country-by-wet-blue table in the reports used here. So this ranking should not be read as the top markets for wet blue on its own.

Rank	Market	Value (FOB)	Share	Change vs 2024
1	China plus Hong Kong	US$ 358,872,962	31.7%	−15.6%
2	United States	US$ 142,726,180	12.6%	−14.4%
3	Italy	US$ 122,568,133	10.8%	−14.3%
4	Vietnam	US$ 116,380,654	10.3%	−13.1%
5	Mexico	US$ 69,297,989	6.1%	+3.0%

Source: CICB, December 2025 report. Data year 2025 versus 2024.

China with Hong Kong is the largest market at 31.7 percent, more than double the second-placed United States. Four of the top five markets fell against 2024, in a band from −13 to −16 percent, while Mexico grew 3.0 percent. The concentration is worth noting for anyone assessing demand: nearly a third of Brazil's leather export value goes to one market, and the top five together account for over 70 percent.

Most recent monthly snapshot, January 2026

The freshest slice comes from the CICB January 2026 report, covering January 2026 alone. A single month is more volatile than a full year and should be read as a snapshot, not a trend.

Measure	January 2026
Value (FOB)	US$ 75,532,512
Change vs January 2025	−22.9%
Change vs December 2025	−21.5%

Source: CICB, January 2026 report. Data period January 2026.

January 2026 value was down against both the same month a year earlier and the month before. The product mix for the month shifted toward wet blue relative to the full-year pattern:

Product type	Share of value, January 2026
Finished	45.6%
Wet blue	31.9%
Split wet blue	7.8%
Salted	7.8%
Crust	6.9%

Source: CICB, January 2026 report. Data period January 2026.

Wet blue was 31.9 percent of value in January 2026, above its 26.7 percent full-year 2025 share, with the wet blue value at US$ 23,517,351 for the month. The top markets for the month were China excluding Hong Kong at 33.1 percent, the United States at 13.5 percent, Italy at 10.1 percent, Mexico at 7.6 percent and Vietnam at 5.6 percent. A single month can swing on the timing of shipments, so this is context, not a new direction on its own.

The 2024 to 2025 turn: show both years

One point needs care because it is easy to flatten into a single misleading number. Brazil's leather export value changed sign between the two years.

Year	Direction	Figure
2024	Growth	Up 12.5%, above US$ 1.2 billion
2025	Decline	Down 9.8%, US$ 1.13 billion

In 2024 the trade grew 12.5 percent and passed US$ 1.2 billion. In 2025 it fell 9.8 percent to US$ 1.13 billion. Both figures trace to CICB, reported through APLF for the year-on-year direction, with the 2025 decline of 9.8 percent and the US$ 1.13 billion total confirmed by the CICB first source directly. The right way to present this is both years with their dates, not an averaged figure and not one year quoted as if it were the standing trend. A buyer told only that exports fell 9.8 percent would have half the picture; the trade was rising the year before.

A note on sourcing these numbers

Anyone searching for Brazilian wet blue figures in English will mostly meet HS-code catalogues and trade-data aggregators. Those sites are useful as a sign of how thin the English-language coverage is, but they are not used here as a source of numbers. Every figure on this page comes from CICB, whose data rests on Brazilian customs statistics. Where a figure is for total leather rather than wet blue alone, that is marked, and the country ranking in particular is total leather, not a wet blue split, because that cross-tabulation was not available in the reports used.

For the commercial side of putting these numbers to work, checking a supplier and specifying a consignment, see verifying a leather exporter and pre-shipment inspection.

Sources

• Full year 2025 value US$ 1,132,336,650 (FOB), area 188,778,758 sqm, weight 640,075,955 kg, and the changes versus 2024 (value −9.8%, area −2.9%, weight +7.1%): CICB, December 2025 report, first source, confirmed. Data year 2025.
• Product-type breakdown for 2025 (Finished 47.5%, Wet blue 26.7%, Split wet blue 11.7%, Crust 9.4%, Salted 4.8%, with values as shown): CICB, December 2025 report, confirmed. Data year 2025.
• Top destination markets for 2025 (China plus Hong Kong 31.7%, United States 12.6%, Italy 10.8%, Vietnam 10.3%, Mexico 6.1%, with values and year-on-year changes): CICB, December 2025 report, confirmed. Data year 2025. These are shares of total leather, not of wet blue; a country-by-wet-blue breakdown was not available in the reports used and is not presented.
• January 2026 snapshot (value US$ 75,532,512, down 22.9% on January 2025 and 21.5% on December 2025; product mix with wet blue at 31.9% and value US$ 23,517,351; top markets for the month): CICB, January 2026 report, confirmed. Data period January 2026.
• The 2024 to 2025 change of sign (up 12.5% and above US$ 1.2 billion in 2024; down 9.8% to US$ 1.13 billion in 2025): APLF citing CICB for the year-on-year direction, with the 2025 decline of 9.8% and the total confirmed by the CICB first source. Shown for both years with their dates rather than averaged.
• Small revision noted: the December 2025 report gives the full-year value as US$ 1,132,336,650 and the January 2026 report as US$ 1,132,342,770 for the same year, a difference of about six thousand dollars from a late customs adjustment. The December figure is used as the full-year number.
• HS-code catalogues and trade-data aggregators are treated as a marker of the thin English-language coverage, not as a source of figures. All volumes are from CICB, which builds on Brazilian customs data.

Facts on this page were checked on 8 September 2026. CICB revises figures as customs data settles, so check the current report before relying on any figure here.