The 40th edition of the ASIA PACIFIC LEATHER FAIR (APLF), Asia’s leading trade fair for the leather processing machinery sector (700 exhibitors from 40 countries) opened today in Hong Kong. The APLF returns to Hong Kong after an absence of 4 years due to the pandemic, consolidating itself as a reference event that attracts visitors from all over China and South-East Asia. Italy participates in the fair with a national pavilion curated by ICE, in collaboration with ASSOMAC, gathering 38 companies from Italy. In order to give prominence to the Italian presence at the fair, all participating Italian companies’ profiles are displayed on the sampleroom platform, a B2B social networking marketplace created by the Fair Authority, which will remain active for a year. Despite the progressive reduction over the years in manufacturing activity in this sector, Hong Kong remains a destination of great interest for Italian producers of machinery and technology for the leather industry, occupying 10th place in the list of outlet markets: in 2023, while total imports in the sector slowed down for the second year in a row, Italy maintained its leadership position among supplier countries, with sales of USD 1 million (+ 35% on the previous year) and a share of 61% of total imports.
