Catalonia generated 444.2 M€ in turnover from the activity of the leather processing sector

• A report drawn up by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the AQR-Lab Laboratory of the University of Barcelona for Leather Cluster Barcelona quantifies the activity of the leather processing sector, its socio-economic impact and its multiplier effects on the Catalan economy.

• The sector contributes to maintaining and/or creating almost 2,700 full-time equivalent jobs.

• For every €100 of direct turnover in the sector, a further €86 is generated in the Catalan economy.

• The sector's contribution to the payment of wage income is €94.4 million.

These are some of the conclusions of the report drawn up by the Research Department of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the AQR-Lab Laboratory of the University of Barcelona, commissioned by Leather Cluster Barcelona with the support of ACCIÓ, whose aim is the quantification of the activity of the leather processing sector, its socio-economic impact and its multiplier effects on the Catalan economy.

In this respect, the study states that as a result of the activity of the leather processing sector, Catalonia generated a turnover of €444.2 million (almost €1.22 million a day). Of this turnover, €239.1 million (54% of the total) comes from the direct impact of the activity of the companies in the leather tanning and finishing sector itself, and €205.1 million (46%) is explained by the indirect and induced impact that the sector generates in other economic activities (design and fashion, clothing manufacture, research, chemistry, sustainability, business services, catering, retail, transport, logistics, etc.).

In addition, the sector also contributes €183.3 million to Catalonia's GDP, pays wage income worth €94.4 million and contributes to maintaining and/or creating almost 2,700 jobs in full-time equivalent terms. Finally, the activity of the leather processing sector generated tax revenues of €62.8 million (VAT, personal income tax, corporation tax and municipal taxes such as property tax, business activity tax and other charges).

Indeed, the multiplier effects that the activity of the leather processing sector has on the Catalan economy as a whole are particularly significant:

• For every €100 of direct turnover in the sector, a further €86 is generated in the Catalan economy.

• For every €100 of GDP generated directly by the sector, a further €206 is generated in the Catalan economy.

• For every €100 of wage income generated directly by the sector, a further €93 is generated in the Catalan economy.

• For every 100 people directly employed in the sector, a further 97 jobs are generated in the Catalan economy.

The analysis also yields other findings at local level, namely that the Anoia region accounts for 66% of the sector's direct turnover impact on Catalonia, and 50% of the total impact, with the city of Igualada concentrating practically all of that impact. Nevertheless, the total effect in terms of turnover of the leather processing sector extends across the whole of Catalonia, with the regions of Osona (€49 million), Vallès Oriental (€37 million), Barcelonès (€33 million), Ribera d'Ebre (€22 million) and Vallès Occidental (€20 million) benefiting in addition to the Anoia (€221.1 million).

The study, which quantifies the economic and social impact of the leather processing industry in Catalonia, in the Anoia region and in the municipality of Igualada, was drawn up on the basis of the economic and business information of the industries that form part of the leather processing sector in Catalonia, a sector which today has recovered its pre-Covid pace. Specifically, the sources of information used are the annual profit and loss accounts and balance sheets for 2019 of the companies that form part of the leather processing industry in Catalonia (38 companies).

Their influence has been calculated in terms of turnover, employment, GVA (the reference variable for determining the contribution to Catalonia's GDP), labour income and tax revenues (VAT, personal income tax, corporation tax and municipal taxes). The total economic impact has been quantified as the sum of three impacts: the direct impact, the indirect impact and the induced impact.