Mink prices seen on upswing

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 31, ISSUE 13, MAY 14, 2007
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
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International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Mink prices seen on upswing
BUYERS GATHERING IN SEATTLE LAST WEEK FOR THE AMERICAN LEGEND AUCTION that was to open Saturday were bracing themselves for a resumption of the price climb that briefly turned downward in February. The question in their minds was not which way mink prices would go, but how much more they would have to pay for goods comparable to what they bought in February. The direction that prices would take was indicated at last month’s big sale in Copenhagen, where buyers for the rapidly expanding Chinese and Russian markets demonstrated their optimism for the coming retail season by paying 10% to 20% more than what they balked at in February, which resulted in less than half of that offering being sold.
Few buyers anticipate prices will return right away to the peak levels reached in 2006, which reportedly encountered some resistance even among Chinese and Russian consumers. The pre-sale estimates were that the bidding would be about 10% or 15% higher than February levels for North American goods and pretty much in line with the prices paid for comparable skins in Copenhagen. They also expected males to be relatively stronger than the females.
BUT THE CURRENT UPTREND COULD RUN INTO ANOTHER ‘CORRECTION’ NEXT YEAR if China’s consumption fails to keep pace with its rapidly increasing mink production. There are no official figures concerning the output of China’s mink farms, but observers, including some with close ties to that sector say that – with the aid of breeding stock bought from North American and European farmers – that country has already leapfrogged into second place behind Denmark, the world’s largest mink producer. Its 2006 crop was estimated at about 10 million, up 25% from the previous year, and an even bigger gain was predicted for this year, based on reports of a larger percentage of females kept for breeding.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Mink Prices Seen on Upswing
China, Russia Again Leading the Way
NAFFEM Attendance Slightly Higher
Chinese Mink Crop Ballooning?
Country Bans Raw Fur Exports
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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