Market Report 15.02.2025

What happened this week

Reporting on the market is not really much fun at the moment. How could it be, because on the one hand activity is very low and on the other hand we are currently excluded from many export markets due to the foot and mouth disease. Fortunately, not from all of them, because for those countries that do not require government-approved certificates, the necessary adjustments can be made with the relevant import authorities. The problem of foot-and-mouth disease is actually becoming increasingly unclear at the moment. Since the one case in a buffalo herd at the beginning of January, there have been no further infections. On the one hand, this is extremely pleasing, as a widespread spread of the disease would have had catastrophic consequences, but on the other hand it is also somewhat strange. The probability that there have been no further infections from wild animals is at least relatively low. With the close monitoring and multiple tests that have been carried out, it is also relatively unlikely that further cases could have gone undetected. This of course raises the question of whether it is possible that the virus detected was not a foot and mouth virus at all. We will never know and therefore we can only hope that Germany can soon be considered disease-free again in accordance with the WOAH regulations. We will have to wait and see whether this will be immediately accepted by all countries. In the meantime, the goods will find their way if they want to. The market at the abattoirs is unimpressed by all these developments, and anyone expecting price reductions must be disappointed at the moment. We are slowly moving towards the trade fair in Milan, which will certainly give us an impression of the situation in the leather industry, as always. It is definitely an indicator of the mood. All the news that can be gathered from Europe at the moment does not point to a real improvement in the order situation in the leather industry. It gives the impression that people are actually more concerned with political developments at the moment than looking ahead with confidence to business developments in the coming months. Too much is and remains unclear and the tariff war is still one of the smaller problems at the moment. With regard to sales this week, we can only report that very little happened overall, but whatever had to be bought and sold was transacted at unchanged price levels. The extent to which these transactions are representative is left to the view and opinion of each individual.