Another week ends and with it the 50th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since 24th February, people have been dying, wounded and forced to leave their homes because of the nefarious decisions of a psychopath and his regime. The human suffering overshadows everything, yet all over the world the impact of the war’s aftermath must be considered every day anew the longer the invasion of Ukraine continues. Besides the direct and already known effects on the energy and food markets, the uncertainty remains as to what further and imaginable decisions the leadership in Moscow is still capable of. Despite the drama, the world continues to turn and the hide market and the decision-makers involved in it are only a reflection of society as a whole. Some are extremely influenced and impressed by the situation, while others are almost completely oblivious to the events and the possible consequences. Neither is particularly helpful in such difficult phases. Putting aside the horror of war, it is very likely that the current situation and the lockdowns in China have a much greater significance for the leather industry at the moment. With each passing day that the Chinese government’s zero covid strategy continues and hinders activity nationwide, the problem for the hide market also intensifies. Meat production worldwide continues unchanged and thus hides and skins as a by-product are constantly produced in corresponding quantities. The war in Ukraine plays only a minor role in the overall balance of the world market, but the decline in production in China, the largest producer of leather, plays an even greater role. The effect always comes with a

delay and therefore the duration of the impairment of production and transport logistics in China has the decisive impact. Those in Europe who are currently ignoring this risk are certainly playing a very dangerous game. This was shown again in the purchasing at the slaughterhouses for the month of April, where individual players are completely ignoring the current risks. Obviously, some players who lack experience and an overview have not yet realised that the prices of the main supplier countries have already fallen by 20 or more percent this year and that the market risk for European hides has therefore increased massively. This is all the more true when the market in China is not absorbing the normal quantities at the moment, we are in the weakening phase of the annual leather production, large volumes are shipped and on water often and at the same time the supply of raw material worldwide will tend to increase in the coming months. For the business, this week has meant a really tough negotiation and struggle to maintain sales and ongoing programmes. Compromises were often again agreed in partnership for April, but it is unlikely that under current conditions the leather industry will be patient for another month and willing to support the inflated European price levels again in the future. For this week’s sales, this meant that only the current programmes for April were extended and this was mostly at little changed prices and the ups and downs were influenced by the respective grades. However, we get the impression that without the market in China, all production can now be sold in full with the absence of china and Asia in general.

The kill