A week in which there was a little more activity for a long time. Above all, we saw enquiries from China and the Middle East, which were almost completely absent in the past weeks, or could only be observed sporadically. However, it must be noted that there were no overwhelming movements, neither in terms of quantity nor in terms of prices, but: Something is better than nothing! The bids that were received were initially far too low and it then took up to three days to work their way very doggedly and gradually up to discussion-worthy levels. Nevertheless, the prices still remained below the asking prices and there was still a shortfall of USD 1.00-2.00 to be happy and reached our goal. In the end, the only decision left was whether to maintain deliveries over the summer or wait for a better autumn. In Europe, the situation is now relatively clear. Many tanners are either already covered until the summer, or the required quantities have already been defined and as a rule these are then covered with the regular suppliers. Quantities that cannot be placed in July will probably not find a buyer in Europe until September. The problem, however, is in August. Against all reason, the holiday period of the European tanners is increasingly concentrated in the phase from week 30-34, so that deliveries – especially of fresh goods – drop extremely sharply in this period and thus represent an extreme burden for the slaughterhouses and processors. The capacities for salting are not sufficient, also because, of course, holiday periods and school holidays also put a strain on and reduce capacities at this stage. Every year we discuss the issue again with the leather industry, but every year it gets worse. This year, of course, the tanners have to deal with other difficulties. Rising costs, high uncertainty regarding orders after the summer and partly also increased semi-finished