Leather Pipeline: sellers have lost confidence in Chinese tanners
24/07/2018
This is the main conclusion from the latest edition of our exclusive Leather Pipeline market intelligence report, published as part of Leatherbiz Weekly on July 24.
With most tanners in Europe already on holiday, the report says, buyers in Asia, especially in China, have the raw materials market to themselves. However, according to Leather Pipeline, buyers in Asia believe “there is only one way for the market to go and that is down”.
This means many Asian tanners, particularly those in China, appear to be using the extra opportunities they have at this time of year to try to acquire as much raw material as possible at the lowest price they can negotiate and to be placing more importance on the bargains they believe they can snap up than on their own genuine replenishment needs.
As a result sellers have lost confidence, especially because “so many contracts” have not been honoured by tanners over the past year. Therefore, most sellers see no particular reason to consider low bids.
The report acknowledges that the situation makes life hard for serious, honourable buyers, who fear that if they buy at market levels and respect their obligations, a competitor next door might just walk away and buy later at lower levels.
Share this story:
