Leather and Footwear Industry
- The latest fashion trend delivery due to geographical proximity to other markets
- International fashion industries have repeatedly used production capacities in the country
- Competitive labor prices with the industry average at € 170
- 70% of the total industry export goes into EU countries
With the long tradition of manufacturing high quality goods, Serbian companies are reliable partners, able to tailor to any market demands. Serbian leather and footwear companies can effectively serve as secondary sources of high quality products for European retailers. They can react proactively to smaller orders with quick turnaround times. The proximity of Serbia to other international markets allows for the latest fashion trend delivery. In addition, Serbian companies have traditionally cooperated with many foreign partners and manufactured for high selling brands such as Salamander, Bata, Timberland and many others. Subsequently, Lorenzetti SRL, Marco shoes SRL, Falc S.p.A. and Mastrotto are just some of the companies that have situated in Serbia due to its advantageous business and geographic environment.
The privatization of companies has not yet been completed and that process, within the leather and footwear industry, is gradual. The current capacity level within the footwear industry is between 30 – 70%, while leather manufacturing is up to 35%. These capacities leave a lot of room for immediate improvement and utilization. Looking at the companies open to restructuring, 25% are in the leather manufacturing sector and the remainder is in the footwear sector.
The current capacity of the leather processing industry per year amounts to: finished leather and fur - 5.1 million square meters, footwear - 16 million pairs, leather goods and leatherwear - 2.9 million square meters. Furthermore, the leather industry has an annual production capacity of about 55,000 tons of raw hides. Of the total raw hides processed, bovine hides account for 60%, pig skins for 35%, and sheep and goat skins for 5%.
Average earnings of employees in the leather industry are well below the economy average. However, it is worth pointing out that employees in socially owned companies are paid considerably less than those employed in private companies. Also, salaries in the northern parts of the country are much higher than in the southern region. Overall, the average monthly salary in leather processing and footwear sector in 2006 was €170.
In 2006 the total value of export in the leather industry was over $160 million, representing an increase of 13% in comparison to 2005. Italy was the main export partner of the Serbian leather manufacturing industry accounting for over 76% of the sector's export of which more than 70% was export of leather shoes.
