New mink crops coming in well

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 31, ISSUE 40, DEC. 10, 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
New mink crops coming in well
THE COOLER WEATHER AND SNOW IN SOME AREAS ARE WORKING WELL FOR NORTH AMERICAN MINK RANCHERS, who will be winding up this year’s pelting operations in the next few days. A check of ranchers in the major farming sections of the U.S. and Canada indicated a good crop in both countries from a quality standpoint, slightly bigger than last year’s, but not as large as planned. Conditions were generally favorable, although a warmer-than-usual spring in the Utah region was said to have caused some kit losses, while ongoing disease problems in Nova Scotia also trimmed production there. The combination of aleutian disease and virus enteritis was estimated to have shaved Nova Scotia’s crop by about 3%, but it was still expected to total about 1.2 million pelts, or about 20% higher than last year. That province accounts for about half of Canada’s mink production, which this year is projected to be about 2.3 million.
BUT THIS YEAR’S INCREASE IN NOVA SCOTIA IS EXPECTED TO BE WIPED OUT NEXT YEAR by reported cutbacks in Canadian production plans for 2008, largely due to economic factors. In this connection, the strong Canadian dollar is being cited as a factor. Although the loonie has slipped from its recent record high against the greenback and is now at about parity, its value is still higher than it has been for many years. For all those years when it was below the U.S. buck, Canadian ranchers benefitted from the exchange rate because their pelts were sold in U.S. dollars and they collected in their own currency with which they covered their costs.
Now, however, that perk has disappeared and they are also faced with higher energy, feed and labor costs. Canadian farmers’ costs per mink pelt are now up to between $40 and $45 per pelt, compared with about $35 in the U.S.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Good Start for December Retail
New Mink Crops Coming in Well
Trade Wary of Big Chinese Crop
Canada $ Back Below Parity
Blackglama Marks 40 Years
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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