Bulletin

Over the past few months there are reports of more manufacturing, both in the finished leather trade and other trades, moving their operations away from China and the Far East. For decades cheap labour and fast turn-arounds have made this part of the world the go-to place for manufacturers.

For the past 25 years, maybe a bit longer, China has been the go to place for many European raw materials suppliers. Some stayed loyal to Italian tanners, while some hedged their bets and kept a foot in both camps.

For over twelve consecutive months theSauerReport has watched hide prices rise, from the low points of Summer 2020. Hide prices are more than doubled across the board in this time period, which in itself is not that bad, and still certainly well below the levels witnessed just a few years ago.

The port of Ningbo has reopened, after two weeks of forced closure following a covid outbreak, only for there now to be further outbreaks in in both Zhengzhou and Chengdu provinces, which has meant imposed factory shut-downs. Both of these areas contain large shoe and leather accessory manufacturers.

For much of the last year, and large parts of this year, the national Irish beef slaughter has been falling. The figures released by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) showed that in one recent week the slaughter fell by more than 3,000 head when compared to the previous week.

There is reported to be plenty of renewed interest in raw material from Kenya, with Indian buyers particularly keen; but only at a low price. This is where the problems start, tanners in India can only pay so much for the raw hides, and want hides to be without problems, such as flay cuts.

The weather in Germany as with many other European countries remains warm for the time of year. This means good news for farmers who are able to give their time towards crop harvesting, rather than sending cattle to slaughter. The price of cattle remains very high and so the incentive is there for farmers to send cattle in, just not the will at the moment. 

The restrictions on the export of beef from Argentina, which was due to run out on August 31, has been extended until October 31. The ban restricts the export of beef to 50% of the volume exported the prior year, and was implemented to stop the price rises of beef for the domestic population, but it is reported to have done the opposite.

Those in the trade long enough will remember when the hide was known as the fifth quarter, something that was not factored into the overall price of the cattle coming to market. In other words, the slaughterhouse made their profit from the carcass, and anything received for the hide was seen as a bonus.

A recent cold spell of weather has been good news for retailers. Winter still holds a grip over parts of the country and footfall inside shopping malls is reported to be higher than off late. Retailers have been able to sell the last of their winter stock at reduced prices, which has been welcomed, but consumers are always after a bargain, especially at a time when unemployment is running high.