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Weekly Footwear & Leather News Roundup: Nov 1 – Nov 7, 2025
This week the global footwear and leather industry continues to navigate a shifting trade environment, rising sustainability demands and supply-chain realignments. Asia-Pacific remains a manufacturing powerhouse but is under pressure from export slowdowns and shifting tariffs. Europe is focused on regulation and value-added manufacturing, while the Americas and Africa/Middle East regions explore new sourcing and raw‐material dynamics. For industry professionals, the key themes to watch are trade policy shifts, raw-material cost pressures, labour supply uncertainties and the push for greener production.
China’s Footwear Exports Fall Amid Global Trade Pressure and Slow Demand
China’s overall exports fell 1.1 % in October, marking the weakest output since February according to customs data. While the figure covers all sectors, it reflects broader headwinds for labour-intensive goods including footwear and leather components as overseas orders taper and buyers delay shipments.
China’s Footwear Manufacturers Report Marginal Decline in Annual Production Output
According to industry data, the sales revenue of key Chinese footwear enterprises declined ~0.8 % year-on-year in the first eight months of 2025. For footwear and components factories, this signals both domestic demand softness and intensified competition from Southeast Asia.
India’s Leather and Footwear Exports Surge 25 Percent in FY 2025
India’s exporters of leather and footwear report that U.S. buyers are absorbing a 5 % tariff surcharge ahead of the festive season, helping orders hold despite broader trade tensions. This temporary relief may help sustain shipments in Q4 though the longer-term impacts depend on bilateral trade developments.
Turkey Tightens Import Rules for Footwear and Leather Parcel Deliveries
Turkey has introduced tighter import rules on footwear and leather goods arriving via postal or parcel delivery, citing safety and standards concerns. For European sourcing, this may signal heightening regulatory checks in transit hubs and alternative routing becoming more complex.
Portugal’s Footwear Sector Accelerates Automation and Moves Upmarket for Exports
Although based on earlier data, Portugal’s “shoe valley” is moving upscale with heavy investment in modernised manufacturing targeting value-added leather footwear. For European manufacturers, this transition signals the premium end is evolving, affecting sourcing and competition dynamics.
US Footwear Importers Diversify Sourcing Strategies Amid Tariff and Trade Shifts
The U.S. footwear market is actively changing sourcing strategies as trade policy pressure mounts. A recent deal offers Indian footwear exporters a temporary 5 % tariff relief for year-end shipments. For U.S. procurement teams this underlines the need to diversify sourcing beyond China and Vietnam.
Indonesia’s Footwear Sector Accelerates 8.3% Growth in Early 2025
Indonesia’s footwear and leather goods industry posted an 8.3% year-on-year expansion in Q1 2025, surpassing national economic growth and fueled by robust domestic consumption. Government data points to enhanced manufacturing efficiency and raw material sourcing as key drivers. This momentum positions Indonesia as a rising export contender in ASEAN
New Global Footwear Sustainability Summit Announced for Vietnam
(Global/EU Market Focus) The 2nd Global Footwear Sustainable Supply Chain Summit was announced to take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in mid-November. The event will directly address navigating tariff challenges, sourcing with integrity, and enhancing procurement traceability. The summit reflects the intense global focus on building agile, resilient, and transparent low-carbon supply chains to meet European and North American demands.
Delayed Policy Support Hinders Bangladesh’s Leather Exports
Bangladesh/Leather) Analysis by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) highlighted that delayed policy support and inadequate environmental compliance are severely holding back Bangladesh’s leather exports. The failure of most small and medium tanneries to achieve globally recognized certifications, such as LWG, forces them to sell semi-processed “wet blue” leather at massive discounts, stalling value-added export growth
Conclusion
The global footwear and leather industry this week signals resilience amid headwinds, with tariffs prompting agile supply chain pivots and regulatory delays fostering innovation in sustainability. Looking ahead, expect heightened focus on nearshoring and ethical sourcing, potentially lifting export volumes by 5-7% in adaptive regions like Indonesia and Mexico. Investors should monitor US policy evolutions for broader ripple effects on raw material pricing.
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