Past and Present of Leather Trade

The industrial development of Macao was snail-paced until small-scale and semi-automated factories specialized in the manufacture of textiles, garments, hardware, enamelware, shoes, handbags and house furniture began to appear in the mid-late 1950s. In the 1960s, Macao experienced an industrial take-off, as spurred by its thriving textile industry. Retail shops selling raw leather materials mushroomed alongside the city’s industrial progress.

With the dynamic development of Macao’s light industry during the 1970s to 1980s, local shoe factories had an escalating demand for raw leather. Many factories of China also bought raw leather from Macao in the light of increasing productivity as driven by the implementation of economic reforms nationwide. These favorable conditions had caused the leather trade of Macao to become exceptionally buoyant for a period of time. But in face of the economic recession that struck Macao in the 1990s, manufactories downscaled and shoe factories closed down in succession. By today, house furniture stores and house renovation companies are the major clients of local leather wholesalers.