What happened this week: Business continues to return more and more to normal and the activity is slowly, but clearly increasing now week by week. Trading patterns with us are now developing more to the US way with the increasing share oriental respectively overseas customers are gaining in the overall sales. The sales of the week  start slow and end active as further the week proceeds. Total sales for the week were very satisfying and this does not apply just for the volume. We are mainly happy with the hide grades which were desired and so we were able to sell further volumes of low grades and lighter weight hides which had been neglected for a long time. As far as prices are concerned not too much to worry about. The market remains in balance and with the increasing value of the USD sales were easy.

Neither was one able to get more, nor was it necessary to take less and what was missing here and there was finally absorbed by the slightly increasing value of the USD. Apart from the steady overseas demand, there was also increased activity from side leather tanners and the vegetable tanning industry and hides which meet their requirements (substance and specific parameters) were easy to place also at full asking levels. So far the good news. Worrying remains the shape of the majority of the Mediterranean tanners. Complains about insufficient orders and prices come as well as from the upholstery tanners in Italy as well from the shoe leather tanners in Italy and Spain and also payments do not arrive the way they should. We can only hope, that this is still the ‘after holiday hangover’ and the situation is going to

improve quickly in the next weeks. Hopefully with better news and orders for them from the trade fairs ahead of us in the coming weeks. If not, they will loose further market towards the Pacific Rim and South America. The kill: No news. Abattoirs complain about high prices for cattle and low sales of beef. The very good weather conditions over the past weeks seem to postpone the late summer activity. With weather forecasts predicting a sharp fall in temperatures for the next week we have the hope, that this could support the slaughter numbers.  What do we expect? We are searching for reasons for a change, but don’t find them. Let’s wait for the results of the trade shows and the political development. It remains, however impressive how steady the raw material markets remain with a deteriorating general economical outlook in the Western world.