German Perspective – 14.01.20
14/01/2020
With most of the western world taking a long break, several players in Asia thought it would be a good chance to see what can be still captured in terms of cheap stuff. We have no idea how many emails were read and by whom, but at least in our case we have to say that there was more interest and activity than usual from that part of the world, although one can certainly discuss the quality and seriousness of the enquiries.
Most of the interest came for very cheap and low-grade material at prices so unattractive that there was not much to pick from. The only exception might have been bids for sheepskin material, where at least the option was to clear up some of the material before spring and summer arrives. For cattle hides, one couldn’t expect anything other than the traditional bargain hunters. Buyers in Asia are fully aware that most sellers in Europe were not really paying too much attention to business.
The market in general began to stabilise in the last weeks of 2019 and this might have invited some buyers to see if there are some leftovers to grab at the prices of two month ago. This applies in particular to cowhides, which continue to be the best deal in terms of quality and price. In the winter season the quality of hides in the US and the complicated situation in parts of Australia due to the bushfires might have also been factors, leading some to conclude that it might be better to secure some hides from Europe to protect against any strange surprises.
This trend has also spilled into the early part of the New Year. Monitoring most of the market reports, people are talking about moderately better prices for cowhides, but we tend to believe that this is only true for those who were selling at below market levels before and are now beginning to make up ground than indicating a real firmer price trend. At least in our case, any counter exceeding half a dollar failed. Most Asian customers seem to be reasonably well covered but would be ready to take more hides to cover the current production season, but at this stage not at substantially more money. Most of them will definitely think that the festive break coming soon in China will see demand vanish and prices will quickly come back under control and possibly even under pressure.
In Europe this week some of the regular programmes were renewed and it was a pretty quick conversation to agree on stable prices, but not more. All in all, it seems to be fair to say that the market continues to be on solid ground, but still in very narrow ranges, which always means it is in a reasonable balance for standard raw material products.
The kill: The kill in the past two weeks has been almost non-existent. Slaughterhouses have indicated good numbers for January, but we have skipped the first 10 days already and we don't believe that the shortfall can be made up in the remaining time this month.
What we expect: We can’t see what might move this market by much in the weeks to come. The world of politics is unpredictable, but it is this that could really move prices.
| 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 | € 1,20 |
Stable |
| 25/29,5 kg | 27,5/28,5 kg | 22/27 kg | 25/26 kg | € 0,70 | Stable |
|
|
Dairy cows |
15/24,5 kg |
22,5/23,5 kg |
13/22 kg |
20/21 kg |
€ 0,70 |
Stable |
|
25/29,5 kg |
27,5/28,5 kg |
22/27 kg |
25/26 kg |
€ 0,60 |
Stable | |
|
30/+kg |
33,5/35,5 kg |
27/+kg |
29/31 kg |
€ 0,55 |
Stable | |
| Bulls | 25/29,5 kg | 27,5/28,5 kg | 22/ 27 kg | 25/26 kg | € 1,15 |
Pressure |
| 30/39,5 kg | 36,0/37,0 kg | 24/34 kg | 31/33 kg | € 1.15 |
Stable |
|
| 40/+ kg | 45,0/48,0 kg | 34/+kg | 38/40 kg | € 1.05 |
Stable |
|
| Thirds | 15/+kg | 25,0/27,5 kg | 13/+kg | 24/26 kg | € 0,30 |
Stable |
| Thirds bulls | 30/+kg | 38,0/40,0 kg | 24/+kg | 33/36 kg | € 0,40 |
Stable |
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