A country which straddles east and west and which has developed its tanning sector considerably, today numbers over a thousand tanneries.
Even in Türkiye, the tanning sector has been developed to envisage the concentration of tanneries and services in a limited area.
Examples of this are Corlu, Tuzla (Istanbul), Menemen (Izmir), and other factories that are at the project stage, such as at Bursa.
For 2002, forecasts of demand for raw materials are as follows:
* Sheepskins – 74,000,000 pieces
* Goatskins – 6,000,000 pieces
* Bovine hides – 5,500,000 pieces
Local abattoirs provide:
* Sheepskins – 15-17,000,000 pieces
* Bovine hides – 3,000,000 pieces
Source: specialised magazines
In order to satisfy internal demand for the current year, Turkish tanneries will have to import 75% of sheepskins and 45% of bovine.
The bovine hides are imported from Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan etc, while the sheepskins come from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and Spain.
Provisional figures issued by Türkiye’s State Statistics Institute have revealed that Türkiye exported livestock worth US$6.7 million in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year fall of 32.8%.
Turkish exports of raw hides and skins and leather were 3.1% higher year-on-year at US$19.4 million.
Türkiye also imported livestock worth US$4.3 million in the four-month period, a year-on-year fall of 69.6%. Imports of raw hides and skins, and leather, were 60% higher year-on-year at US$186 million.
