Current status and trends of leather production in Türkiye

The leather production sector is based on processing raw hides and skins, which are by-products of the meat and dairy industries, into usable materials. Türkiye stands out as one of the world's leading countries in this field, thanks to its rich leather processing heritage and production capacity. In this study, the leather production industry, which is also called the ‘tanning industry’ apart from the leather products industry, is analysed in terms of raw materials, production facilities and processes, regions where leather is produced, Türkiye's foreign trade in the leather production sector and trends in leather production, based on the presence and slaughter numbers of cattle, sheep and goats, which are raw material sources in Türkiye. Türkiye is one of the 10 largest leather producers in the world in terms of production volume, it is a country that carries out most of its leather production with imported raw hides and skins due to insufficient local raw hide and skins resources, leather production is concentrated in certain organised industrial zones, and in foreign trade, it is a country with high import rates against a significant amount of exports. Among the trends in leather production in Türkiye, export orientation, increasing production quality standards, tendency to do business together, innovative approaches in marketing strategies, contract manufacturing and close relations with the food industry stand out. With this study, which aims to contribute to the literature by evaluating the current situation and future perspectives of the leather production industry in Türkiye, the capacity of the leather production sector in Türkiye to maintain its strength in global markets can be clearly seen.