Leather Pipeline charts a change in the fortune of bull hides
13/12/2016
Until recently, these hides, particularly those from southern Germany and other Alpine regions of Europe, were the most coveted raw material in the global leather supply chain, particularly among automotive tanners.
“Demand for high-quality leather in the automotive industry was constantly rising and what began with south German bulls only grew as further suitable raw material from all over Europe found a home as well,” the report says. Tanners with a steady supply of these hides rushed to renew monthly contracts and those serving sectors with less deep pockets than automotive were frequently priced out.
In November 2016, the situation began to change, according to our report. Weights and slaughter levels in these key regions were on the increase week after week just at a time when tanning capacity among key buyers of the material, particularly in northern Italy, was becoming constrained by an ongoing issue their with effluent treatment regulations.
Tanners in Asia have still been buying in these final weeks of 2016, but these extra-heavy bull hides have always been too expensive for that market and, even with supply as abundant as it is, prices are not coming down.
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