Market Report 28.11.2025

What happened this week

With today’s Friday, November comes to an end, leaving only one more month to conclude the year 2025. Normally, the first two weeks of December are normally marked by a great deal of work and activity, as production then in the leather industry has always come to a halt during the last two weeks of the year. This year, however, everything feels somewhat different, and somehow the Christmas calm has already settled over the business — which, in the end, is nothing more than the logical consequence of what we have repeatedly reported and discussed in recent weeks and months. With regard to production in Europe, raw material demand, and planning for the remainder of the year, all questions are likely already answered. This of course includes the fact that there is no further demand for raw material, and this situation extends well into 2026. So, once again, nothing really new this week. At the moment, it appears far more likely that many parts of our sector are giving serious thought to the future. There is always a future — only sometimes it looks different from the past. As much as people are talking at the moment, we have the impression that there is little agreement about what the future might look like. The perspectives being taken are extremely diverse, and the unspoken views are correspondingly varied. Broadly speaking, there are those who believe that history will repeat itself and everything is simply a constant up and down, and then there are those who are considering what a changed future might look like. All of these general statements refer primarily to the situation in Europe, as the pressure for change is currently greatest here. Everything is, of course, additionally influenced by the strains brought on by the holiday season and politics. However, one statement may at least find broad agreement: Without an increase in global leather demand, the current problems will not be solved, and for many the situation is likely to worsen. In business terms, the week progressed much like many before it. There is no noticeable dynamism, demand is not increasing, and the reports from European tanneries regarding order volumes for the start of the new year are anything but encouraging. How things will develop in Asia will probably only become clearer in two or three weeks. One thing is at least certain: On the one hand, low-priced hides are currently finding stable demand in many directions, and on the other hand, hides that can realistically be considered expensive in relation to achievable average leather prices are walking on very thin ice. It should come as no surprise that the views of buyers and sellers regarding the future of such goods continue to diverge. Commercially, this resulted once again in a quiet week. Very little — if anything at all — happened in Europe and the Far East, meaning that most activity originated from the Indian subcontinent. But even here, one must note that this concerns only specific supply chains, not a broad demand or widespread interest in hides. Due to the lack of volume and inactivity in many product groups, it is not possible to make any serious statements about price developments.