It is not unusual for things to calm down at the end of the year, but this year it is much more pronounced. In Europe, it is extremely difficult to get reliable information about the planned production of the leather industry in the first quarter of the New Year. It seems that almost all the energy in the tanneries is focused on discussing the current stock levels. Many companies are saying that they are very worried about the accumulated stocks and the dampened business outlook at the same time. Perhaps they have relied on the principle of hope for too long and are being forced to make decisions now that the planning discussion is about the next business year. This does very little to help sales of raw materials. In any case, it does not seem at the moment that the leather factories in Europe will start the New Year with full production. This leaves most hopes focused on what is happening in Asia. In China in particular, the restrictions and limitations associated with the Corona policy are being eased at a breathtaking pace – companies are of course delighted to see this, but at the same time report that this decision is coming too late for business in the consumer goods industry. Both the global Christmas business and the orders for the consumer market in China are lost for the current season and cannot be made up for, so it is of little help in the short term and many companies are sticking to their decision to close production in the short term and only reopen after the Chinese New Year. At the same time, however, this means that we might very quickly hear