A step back to the “colonial age”, when Argentina exported commodities and not finished products with higher added value. This is how five associations of the national leather supply chain define the decision of the Milei government to remove the duty on the export of raw tanning materials. And they do so in open polemic with the livestock companies, which have so often called for the liberalization measure: “They are only interested in maximizing their profits, selling raw hides abroad to the detriment of an industrial supply chain that generates thousands of jobs”. By La Conceria.

Back to the colonial age

The sharp response to the liberalization of exports, we were saying, is signed by five associations: that of the Argentine tanneries (CICA), that of the tanneries of the Province of Buenos Aires (ACUBA) together with the acronym of the footwear manufacturers (FAICA) and their suppliers (CAIPIC), as well as the producers of leather goods (CIMA). The letter, released by the local press, should be read in opposition to the Casa Rosada and, above all, to the meat industrialists. It is after an appeal by the breeders of the Province of Santa Fe that raw hides have also ended up in the Milei agenda.

“No economic damage”

To the breeders who complain about the economic damage resulting from not being able to freely export raw hides, whose management would become a cost to be absorbed in the price of meat, the tanners respond. “In 2024, with the duty in force, 50% of salted hides were exported, which are worth between 0.5 and 1.8% of the head of cattle. In the meantime, the price of meat has decreased by about 40%. This demonstrates its independence from the export regime and the price of leather”. According to the leather companies, the only result of the latest liberalization is to damage a supply chain that creates added value for those who, instead, do not.