German Perspective - 20.09.16
20/09/2016
Low grades, dairy cows and lighter-weight males are not really attractive in the market for various reasons and are not commanding much interest at all, if any. Heavy and high-quality hides enjoy decent demand and a number of players are trying to convert this into higher prices. How much success they are having is difficult to judge, but at least the suppliers at the top end of the heavy bull range claim that they were able to get a few cents more for their hides. It is pretty difficult to judge if the statement is true or not.
Tanners are presently being very selective and favour hides with competitive prices and quick delivery. As much as some grades are doing well, others are doing badly. Sellers focus on the bright side of the market and try to use the positive dynamics in preparation of the Lineapelle fair in Milan, while buyers focus more on the concerns and the problems and uncertainties of the market.This explains the ongoing wide discrepancy between prices and reported market opinions.
From a European perspective the situation remains the same as for weeks. Asia and in particular China continues to under-perform, European buyers concentrate on some items only and the kill has not yet picked up in the way one would expect after the summer. With slowly rising production, generally low and limited inventories in the tanneries and a kill that has been lagging behind normal levels, the downward pressure has not been as strong as expected. Only dairy cows and low grades are showing problems and even sharp price corrections. Casualty hides, for example, struggle to hold levels that make it worthwhile to flay them. Dairy cows miss the volume demand from China and also lighter-weight salted heifers and bulls cannot really benefit from the stable performance of the US market.
Sales during the week were again focused on the niches and specialities. There were a few sales also for heavier bulls recorded with buyers who needed to fill certain gaps. Chinese tanners are still looking for high-quality and heavy dairy cows, but are not willing to pay adequate prices. Consequently was the total number of sales was not impressive and once again concentrated on the items that are selling well to the parts of the leather industry that are busy anyway.
The kill: The kill continues to climb, but only very moderately. The hot weather and subdued beef consumption continues to depress slaughter. However, most butchers expect rising numbers as soon as the weather conditions worsen and farmers have to pay more attention to sell cattle. We expect a high number of dairy cows in the slaughter mix for the last quarter 2016 .
What we expect: On Tuesday the Lineapelle show in Milan opens. As far as fashion and leather types are concerned it might offer us an indication of what we can expect for the coming season and what the demand for various types of hides is going to be. It will not tell us yet how well leather will sell in the coming months, but we expect to know more about that by the end of October. Prices are unlikely to change soon.
Type
| Weight range | Avg. green weight | Salted weight | Avg. weight salted | Price per kg green weight | Trend | |
| Ox/heifers | 15/24,5 kg | 22,0/23,5 kg | 13/22 kg | 20/21 kg | € 2,20 |
Weak |
| 25/29,5 kg | 27,5/28,5 kg | 22/27 kg | 25/26 kg | € 1.65 |
Weak |
|
|
Dairy cows |
15/24,5 kg |
22,5/23,5 kg |
13/22 kg |
20/21 kg |
€ 1.70 |
Weak |
|
25/29,5 kg |
27,5/28,5 kg |
22/27 kg |
25/26 kg |
€ 1,45 |
Weakish | |
|
30/+ kg |
33,5/35,5 kg |
27/+ kg |
29/31 kg |
€ 1,40 |
Weakish | |
| Bulls | 25/29,5 kg | 27,5/28,5 kg | 22/ 27 kg | 25/26 kg | € 1,90 |
Weak |
| 30/39,5 kg | 36,0/37,0 kg | 24/34 kg | 31/33 kg | € 1.90 |
Weakish |
|
| 40/+ kg | 45,0/48,0 kg | 34/+ kg | 38/40 kg | € 1.85 |
Steady |
|
| Thirds | 15/+ kg | 25,0/27,5 kg | 13/+ kg | 24/26 kg | € 1,10 |
Weak |
| Thirds bulls | 30/+ kg | 38,0/40,0 kg | 24/+ kg | 33/36 kg | € 1.25 |
Steady |
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