US Perspective - 24.03.20
Courtesy of The Maxfield Report
www.themaxfieldreport.com
Most packers entered last week with well-populated offer lists. One of the major producers was reported to be only offering wet blue hides. This seems surprising, given the lack of sales the past four-six weeks.
Packers lowered prices by a $1 to $2, depending on the packer as well as the selection. Buyers viewed these asking prices as a “starting point” when negotiating sales and those with cash and the ability to take prompt shipment appear as if they are able to negotiate trading levels in their favour.
Chinese tanners appear as if they are slowly returning to work and ales of wet-salted hides to China continue to improve, while tanners in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea appear as if they are taking decent levels as well.
Like big packer hides, the number of cow hides coming at sellers continues to dwarf interest, thus forcing those selling hides to take their highest and best bids to keep product moving. As a result, some selections of hides are approaching some of the lows we saw last year, when some selections approached levels of having no value. It will be interesting to see how this is handled by producers, as this situation is, unfortunately, a long time from coming to an end.
