Quiet summer with low kills and light cattle

Summer time and the living is easy is how the old song goes, but in the hide trade the summer time is quiet with low kills, light cattle and customers all gone on holidays with the result that stocks have increased all round. Most hide handlers have sold forward for shipment late August and early September and are patiently waiting to start shipping hides again. Beef sales during the summer have been very sluggish and have resulted in falling cattle prices returned to the farmer. The market has fallen between 10-15% in a few short weeks and is now of great concern to everyone involved in this business. At the end of the first week in August the main farmers union in Northern Ireland held a protest at a large supermarket in Belfast. Farmers in the Republic of Ireland have a record of protesting and blocking abattoirs but the farmers in Northern Ireland are an altogether more conservative group and for them to come out on to the streets is an indication of just how dire the situation has become. There was a report in the press that up to one third of beef on sale in Ireland was sourced in South America at low prices, and that South American producers were not subject to the same stringent regulations as producers in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. This has been the spur that has driven Northern Ireland farmers to this action. Quite how this new militancy will help the situation remains to be seen. Prices remained steady through July and August and were as follows: 36kg+....................................... 72p 31/35.5...................................... 82p 26/30.5..................................... 90p 22/25.5 .................................... 95p Cull cows also remained steady at £15 per hide salted. It appears that the over thirty month scheme will be coming to an end by December 2005 and this should mean that in 2006 export of some salted cows can begin again but the exact details have not been confirmed yet regarding the timetable for export. New season lambskin business has settled down and all product seems to be moving steadily between Türkiye and China. The price for doubleface delivered Türkiye is £2.90 and fellmongers/Türkiye £1.95.