This week: Well, sometimes the old logic of self-fulfilling prophecy still works. For quite some time a number of players around the globe have been spreading the story of a hide shortage. Technically, hides can never be in short supply, for the simple reason that they are not produced for tanners to use. The hide and skin market may be as supply-and-demand driven as every other market, but it is completely dependent on beef production. The material can either be used right away or stored for later use, but strong or weak demand for hides will never determine how many hides are available.

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