Hides and Skins:  Net sales of 316,500 pieces were 9% below the previous week and 12% under the prior 4-week average.  Whole cattle hide sales of 307,100 pieces were primarily for China (120,300 pieces) and South Korea (73,200 pieces).  In addition, whole cattle hide net sales of 3,100 pieces for delivery in the 2004 marketing year (which began Jan. 1) resulted as increases for Thailand (2,700 pieces) and China (2,200 pieces) were partly offset by decreases for Hong Kong (1,800 pieces).  Exports of 305,700 pieces were 19% lower than the prior week and 17% less than the previous 4-week average.  Whole cattle hide exports of 289,700 pieces were mainly for China (95,400 pieces) and South Korea (89,000 pieces).

Net sales of 34,700 wet blues (mainly unsplit) were 14% below the prior week and two-thirds under the previous 4-week average.  The main buyer was Hong Kong (36,100 unsplit).  Decreases were reported for South Korea (10,800 unsplit).  Exports of 28,100 hides were down 55% from the previous week and 65% below the prior 4-week average.  The main destination was Hong Kong (19,400 unsplit).  Net sales of splits totalling 88,600 pounds were off three-fifths from the previous week and 92% under the prior 4-week average.  Increases for Hong Kong (90,000 pounds) were partly offset by decreases for Indonesia (1,400 pounds).  In addition, sales of splits of 2,950,000 pounds for delivery in the 2004 marketing year (which began Jan. 1) were for China (1,450,000 pounds), Italy (1,250,000 pounds), Mexico (200,000 pounds), and Taiwan (50,000 pounds).  Exports of 953,500 pounds were 24% above the previous week, but 45% below the prior 4-week average.  The leading destination was Hong Kong (521,700 pounds), followed by Italy (130,800 pounds), China (130,200 pounds), and Mexico (78,700 pounds).

WEEKLY NET SALES ACTIVITY  COUNTRY	WHOLE				WET BLUES
	CATTLE HIDES 1601	CATTLE SKINS 1602	KIP SKINS 1603	CROUPONS 1604	UNSPLIT 1606	GRAIN SPLIT 1607	DROP SPLITS 1608
	THOUSAND UNITS
ITALY	2.2		6.1
TURKEY	--1.7
JAPAN	26.4		1.0			0.7
TAIWAN	44.3				3.0
CHINA	120.3	Share this story: Leatherbiz.com cannot be held responsible for content if the language setting is changed from English. The translations provided by Google Translate are automated and therefore might not be accurate and may contain incorrect, offensive or misleading language. We offer this facility as a guide only.