Türkiye has tanned leather for centuries, and its tanneries still supply shoe, bag, garment and furniture makers across Europe. What the customer sees and touches, the colour, the gloss and the feel, is decided in the last step: finishing. This note looks at the market and the chemistry of that final coat.
The Global Picture
IMARC Group values the global leather chemicals market at about US$10.2 billion in 2025 and expects it to reach US$16.0 billion by 2034, growing by around 5 percent a year. The market covers tanning agents, dyes and finishing chemicals: base coats, pigments, lacquers and top coats.
Türkiye: Tanneries in Transition
According to the İstanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters' Association (İDMİB), Türkiye exported leather and leather products worth US$1.44 billion in 2025, down 5.3 percent after US$1.52 billion in 2024. Footwear led with US$775 million, followed by saddlery and bags, leather garments and processed leather. The European Union takes about 40 percent.
Production is organised in specialised leather zones. A 2026 study counts 451 registered facilities and about 9,000 workers. İstanbul Tuzla leads large hide processing, Bolu Gerede has the largest capacity for large hides, Bursa hosts around 30 tanneries, and Uşak, İzmir Menemen, Çorlu, Niğde Bor, Balıkesir Gönen, Denizli, Isparta and Manisa complete the map.
The Chemistry of the Finish
- Nitrocellulose lacquers are used as leather top coats worldwide. They give appearance, gloss control, a pleasant touch and durability, and they bond base coats to high gloss and patent finishes.
- Pigments give opaque colour and cover: iron oxides and carbon black for browns and blacks, titanium dioxide for whites and pastels, organic pigments for bright fashion colours.
- Matting agents and additives set the sheen, from natural matt to full gloss, and adjust feel and flexibility.
The industry is moving towards waterborne finishes, including nitrocellulose emulsions, which bring their own stability challenges. Solvent based nitrocellulose lacquers remain widely used where speed and appearance matter most.
What This Means for Buyers
A tannery needs a finish that looks the same on every hide and every batch, and raw materials that arrive before the season's orders. Gültaş Kimya supplies nitrocellulose from a leading producer, iron oxide and chrome pigments, carbon black, titanium dioxide and matting agents to leather finishers from stock in our Çayırova, Kocaeli warehouse.