U.S. mink prices at new peak

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 32, ISSUE 23, AUGUST 11, 2008
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
U.S. mink prices at new peak
AMERICAN MINK PRICES REACHED A NEW HIGH THIS YEAR, the overall male/female average hitting $65.70. This was an increase of $17.30 over last year’s average and nearly $5 higher than the previous record set in 2006, according to data compiled by the U.S. Agriculture Dept.’s statistical service.
The crop, produced in 2007 and sold this year, amounted to 2.83 million pelts, a decrease of 1% from the previous year. It realized a total of $186 million, an increase of 34% over last year. In the past two decades, there have been only eight years in which prices averaged over $35, which ranchers considered their break-even point. More recently, however, that break-even has been estimated at closer to $40.
In the meantime, the number of farms producing mink in the U.S. in 2007 edged up 1% to 283. That compared with 2,800 ranches and a crop of 5.7 million in 1969, when the government began keeping such records. The three leading states were Wisconsin with 71 farms, Utah with 65 and Idaho with 24. The number of pelts produced by color class as a percentage of the total was: Black 52%; mahogany 20%; blue iris 10%; demi/wild 5%; white 4%, and sapphire 4%.
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL PACT ON TRAPPING STANDARDS, designed to avert trade problems in wild furs, became effective in July. In the works for more than 10 years, the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) became legally binding after Russia’s ratification. The agreement, which applies to millions of animals that are trapped in the EU, Russia and Canada for any purpose, sets strict standards to ensure that trapping technology and practices meet the highest possible animal welfare standards. As for the U.S., the world’s largest supplier of wild furs, a separate pact was worked out by the end of 1997.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Europe Set to Halt Seal Trade
Finland Assails Dutch Farming Ban
U.S. Mink Prices at New Peak
Joe Morelli New Legend Head
Consumer Confidence Turns Upward
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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