Not a lot of rumours or facts floating around, but some positive signs. The biggest rumour is no business. Very quiet out there by the players. One little rumour is that CG sales are way off. I even read an article about it in a non mainstream news newspaper recently. Another is that their primary buyer, who was very loaded withskins when CG quit fur, is planning to buy some skins again next year. Another rumour is that some of the big players might start trimming again but only for the asian market? One unfortunate rumour is that the coyote king has skins stacked up still from way back, like the $150 kind and still has a mountain of coyotes sitting at International in addition to home which is in Italy. Another rumour is that the harvest is way off on all species, due to fuel price increase. Thus the supply and demand price thing might come into play, tho one can speculate that if there's no product then people -users might quit.
A fact is that each year that goes by is another years worth of those fricking ranch mink being consumed. Peak production was 90 million mink produced in one year. Another fact is the Danish mink industry is dead, and their last 10 million mink produced, stale of course are probly going to sell this year. The rumour is that nobody wants ranch mink anymore… but they still buy mountains of the stuff. No not like it was precovid, but still great amounts compared to wild fur. The rumour is that SAGA is currently producing 10 million and North America 1 million. Thats a far cry from 90 million skins on a hot market… now speculate!!!!
The rumour was that the Australians came into the last FHA sale and aggressively bought all the beaver aside from the best/shearing type beavers, outcompeting the North American, ukraine and Portugese. Thus the next rumour that these felt companies are short on beaver. Anybody wanna skin some rabbits??? Im sure some or all of these companies would love to buy a few containers of rabbit skins… only 50,000 skins per container. However it is believed that the felt craze cowboy hat craze will subside when the Yellowstone tv show comes to an end
Another rumour is that the sable production in the former USSR is way off, a normal harvest is 250,000 skins for a regular sale this time of year and the harvest was only 110,000 skins. Also the rumour was that sable price was up the first day of the sale, even higher on the second. The next rumour is this will translate into a 30% increase in marten prices… however the sable were only bid on by folks that are able to buy them under the current sanctions, thus likely excluding many from using russian sable. Therefore let me start a rumour, i think we will see much higher than a 30% increase in marten prices in march at fha.
I think the cottage industry is having an effect on the beaver offering, many people not selling their beaver and other skins in the traditional markets, thus lower offering to the industry than if they weren’t. Too bad the felt industry is limited in the price they can pay… or at least what they are willing to pay. I think felt is worth $12.50 USD per pound, could go to a record price of $14.50 per pound??? But i was told thats it, felt people not wanting to go higher??? All rumours!
I think i seen a fricking felt cowboy hat priced at $1000??? Surely they could pay more than they are?
Seeing this blended internet sale followed by live at FHA is ground breaking for the industry. The rumour is 50 ish wild fur buyers at a regular sale? But 390 buyers registered at FHAs last internet sale. Surely the internet bidding will push the live bidders. I can see the zoo collection goods being smoking hot!!! That is wolf, wolverine, bears to a lesser degree, weasels, skunks and such flying high. I see lynx doing well and any other low volume high quality specie doing well in light of the new system. I think the ranch fox is going to go up at FHA, not necessarily world but is a very limited skin to buy in North America for most people. So FHA is breaking new ground… i am very pleased!
So that's a few rumours. What is fact? What is fiction? I dont know
But the positive signs are out there
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