What happened this week: Another Corona week has ended and nothing has turned to the better. The Chinese claim to have the spread of the virus under control now, while in other parts of the world – in particular in Europe – infection rates continue to rise. There are some media reports from China claiming that the virus is just returning to China now because of travellers bringing it back. Sounds a bit cynical. 

For most, checking the Internet every morning for the number of new cases has become pretty common. Everyone has to deal with the issue in his or her own way, but it is very likely that it's going to leave very deep tracks in the global society and business. Humans believe they can manage everything, including the climate, but they have to learn there are quite a number of issues still bigger than all human wisdom. 

However, this crisis is going to disappear one day. The question then becomes how is 'normal' to be defined. Such issues can change human behaviour a lot, and it will be most interesting to see how consumers’ consumption behaviour changes in the future. It may be just as before, but there may also be a questioning and redefining of spending attitudes. 

The biggest problem for the leather industry could become travel and, of course, the sharp drop of car sales in China. Optimists are expecting a V curve of demand and spending like we saw after the financial crisis in 2008. Pessimists expect a total change of spending and anticipate the end of the overspending which has been triggered with the low interest rate policy implemented by most national banks and global institutions. Time will tell us who is right, but leather now must be put back into the focus of the consumer more intensively than ever before.

For the moment one can only study and monitor the daily news and the publications of the big brands and manufacturers. They still continue to paint the situation in optimistic numbers, calling the effects very temporary with the expectation of a strong recovery. The 'think positive' attitude has become very common management practice over the years, and the coronavirus is delivering all the CEOs every excuse as to why their previous predictions hadn't been correct. So far, we have barely seen any reasonable statement or analysis that contains sufficient realism. 

We can deal with all these general statements, because there was little trade concluded this week. In our part of the world, everyone is looking at the abattoir buying and it again seems that many people are unwilling to accept the facts. Prices are certainly not a decisive factor; it is more demand, consumption and logistics. Neither cheaper nor more expensive prices will trigger any more business at the moment. 

As usual, the Chinese are trying to make the best out of the bad, by taking a chance and buying cheap. Low bids and little real interest was what we found this week and the number of sales were quite limited in volume. 

The kill: The kill has picked up a little after the carnival, and it may be that some people are even stocking some food these days. Also, ready-to-eat producers are experiencing more demand for canned or deep frozen food. 

What do we expect: We continue to run blind, but as the situation looks today anything other than rising pressure on prices would be a surprise. We await the outcome of the abattoir prices and how the European tanners react to them. From China we expect little.

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