The leather and footwear trade show SAPICA is an event which has catalysed the economic development of the leather footwear market in Mexico, galvanising an industry that thousands of people depend upon, said the president of the Chamber for the Guanajuato Leather Industry (CICEG).

Sapica 2010

At a press conference the industry leader stated that to maintain and to develop leather business in a global market required enormous effort, but above all necessitates a business culture focussed upon innovation, service and the design of new products that can compete with internationally recognised brands.

The leather sector in Mexico is made up of around 4,000 manufacturers spread out across the whole of the country, supported by strong supply and service industries. In the state of Guanajuato alone 2,300 leather businesses are in operation, along with 300 suppliers and 620 tanneries, of which 56% are micro-companies, 33% are small, 9% are medium-sized and 2% are large, according to a recent census.

At the national level, Guanajuato produces 69% of the total, some 168 million pairs of shoes annually, whilst Jalisco is responsible for 16%, the Distrito Federal and urban area 7% and the states of Chihuahua, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Veracruz and Yucatán produce 7.3% between them.

The leather industry directly provides approximately 99,000 jobs, of which 69,000 are found in Guanajuato, representing some two-thirds of the entire national leather workforce. As regards indirect employment, the sector generates 198,000 positions nationally, bringing the total number of jobs related to the leather industry up to 297,000.

The president of CICEG called on the government of Felipe Calderón to consider the entire leatherwear sector before reaching any trade agreement with Brazil. “Brazil has clear political support and protection for its industry, but in Mexico we have not seen actions that allow Mexican businesses to develop their productive activity in a global market that has great challenges to be overcome every day,” he said.

Martin Dueñas also said that in Mexico they had not seen the necessary structural reforms and that if it was to become a wealthier country Mexico “urgently needs domestic policies before opening our market in the current way, protecting employment that benefits thousands of Mexican families.”