On the final day of the 2009 APLF fair an important round table discussion was held entitled, “The hide market crash and its influence on the future of the leather industry”.
The discussion was moderated by Ron Sauer, the international leather market expert, ex adviser to the United Nations and editor of the renowned The Sauer Report .
The importance of this discussion was illustrated by the presence of all the major players in the international hide market; China, United States, India and Brazil. Taking place at APLF, the “Global Meeting Place for the International Leather Industry”, the discussion was ideally situated at the center of the leather industry’s international market place.
The speakers all described in detail how the collapse in hide prices had come about in the context of the global economic crisis currently hitting all industrial sectors. Problems such as export contracts not being honored and the drastic oversupply of hides and skins were also dealt with. Declines in revenue were mentioned by both the Brazilians and US representatives and the outlook for the automotive and footwear sectors analyzed.
However, no concrete solutions were proposed to correct the market imbalance between supply and demand, even though David Peters of DLP Advisors did offer a risk management solution so as to avoid non performing hide export contracts.
The following interview with Ron Sauer just after the conference will give readers an overview of what was discussed and a full report will be published with more insights and details on this vital subject for the global leather industry.
