It has been estimated that in Australia alone, 12 million cow pats1 hit the ground every hour! Multiply that to account for the world's cattle population and that's an awful lot of dung! But how does all this poo affect the leather industry? Well, it is difficult to know where to start because dung contamination of hides and skins causes so many problems for the tanner.

According to Maier, the chemical industry has by no means exhausted its potential. The latest developments even show that it is possible to improve fastness properties without sacrificing the natural qualities of the leather.

According to Narvaez, the Colombian sector's specialities include footwear leathers, leathergoods, garment and upholstery. In terms of size and technology, as well as in finishing, the main players are Bufalo, Itagui, Americana de Curtidos, Curtipieles, Matteuchi, Curtiembres Sierra Perez, Curtiembres del Reno and Districarnazas Luna. The tanning industry is dispersed throughout Colombia with centres on the Atlantic Coast in Baranquilla and Cartagena as well as on the 'Coffee-growing Axis' - Calarca and Pereira, Antioquia, Medellín, and in the centre of the country, Bogotá. In terms of wet-blue production the major players are CI Colcueros and American Leather in Bogotá.

Increased demand for footwear based on a real rise in disposable consumer income has enabled many tanneries to lift their sales of finished leathers to the local shoe manufacturing industry. Table 1 illustrates the decline in productivity and the use of installed capacity of the tanning and footwear industries, taking 1997 as the base year.

According to John Koppany, CIDEC, 'with the exception of some foreign-owned tanneries, the Brazilian tanning industry has not managed to develop to the same degree as cattle ranching and the meat packing industry. Obviously there has been a great expansion in wet-blue plants ready to absorb the ever-increasing offer in green hides but few tanning industries have fully developed into first-class, world players in the finished leather business.'

During the four-week period ended April 28, 2007, Federally Inspected Slaughter showed an average weekly kill of 634,750, up from the 629,500 in our last report. This compares with an average of 621,750 in the same period the previous year and represents a 2.9% increase over 2006.

Australian cattle slaughter for 2006 was 7.93 million head - an increase of 300,000 cattle over the previous year. This is the highest recorded since 1998 when, coincidentally, Australia was last in a severe drought. The largest increases in cattle slaughter have been in the eastern states where the drought has been the most severe.

After two major trade fairs in Hong Kong and Bologna nothing has really changed. We are happy with the good demand for leather but unhappy with the impossibility of tanners making a profit on what they are doing. The new weakness of the dollar makes the situation worse again. One can say that almost the entire world trade, or the lack of trade, is ruled by the exchange rate of the US$.

Since our last View, the much heralded APLF in Hong Kong has now come and made its way into history. From an American perspective, it was a waste of time with respect to any sales that were accomplished.

April was a difficult month for hide dealers in Ireland. Kill levels remained high despite beef processors claiming that due to increased live cattle costs and reduced beef returns they were losing a fortune. If the situation is as bad as claimed by the beef processors then some of them must be close to going out of business and yet they are all killing merrily away.

According to TFL, the company are starting 'with a new spirit' by rearranging their management board: Dr Peter Amann, Dr Christian Csaki and Eugen Katzenstein are sharing the presidents' responsibilities in addition to their current functions. All of them have substantial experience in the leather field and have been with the company for many years.

Ernesto Moos (right) has received the latest Frank Johnston Award for services to the hide, skins and leather industry. The presentation was made at the annual dinner of the International Council for Hides Skins and Leather Traders Associations which is held annually in Hong Kong the night before APLF opens. Ernesto is one of the oldest members of the trade who are still actively engaged in the business and he was a friend of Frank Johnston and later his son Michael, both past presidents of the association.

Our bread and butter is the raw hide and skin and a number of factors influence their value. Except for a few people, everybody knows that the hide is a byproduct of the meat industry in more than 90% of cases.

A regional strike in Argentina has interrupted leather chemicals production at the LANXESS site in Zárate. The strike affects a total of 14 companies and was initiated on July 7 by the regional chemicals and petrochemicals trade union in the cities of Zárate and Campana. As a precautionary measure, LANXESS have now declared a state of force majeure to their customers in the leather industry, mostly in Latin America. This state will continue until the end of the strike. Customers are being supplied from existing stocks in Zárate and with products from Merebank (South Africa). In addition, external production capacities are being utilised.

The World Ostrich Congress 2007 will take place in Riga, Latvia on October 19 and 20, 2007. The organisers, the Latvian Ostrich Association, have chosen these dates to conveniently fall after the bi-annual meat fair, ANUGA, in Frankfurt, Germany (October 13-17, 2007).

Instead of publishing fashion trends and fashion colours separately twice a year, the leather department at BASF is now presenting its trendsetting leather and fashion colours in a single brochure entitled: 'Inspirations for Leather' which is produced for the special requirements of the European market. Under the motto: 'Edition Toscana' the brochure features an assortment of modern textures, exquisite colours and excellent design.

Stahl's high level of expertise in all aspects of leather fashion has recently been enhanced by opening a Design Studio in Milan, Italy. Here a fashion team not only dreams but also transforms these conceptual ideas into both commercial and avant-garde products that are used in high quality leather articles.

ZAO Russkaya Kozha reached ninety years of age in 2006. At present, the tannery is considered an industry leader and over the past two years, their product range has undergone significant changes. They have reduced their output of unfinished goods and grown the leather production.

TFL and the THOR Group have signed an agreement concerning sales, customer service and distribution of biocides for the leather industry. The agreement allows TFL to offer the Acticide WB range to all major leather markets by providing the leather industry not only with superior service but also safe and reliable technical solutions in the biocide field.

President of the International Council of Hides Skins and Leather Traders, Pierre Bonefant, told delegates at the annual ICHSLTA meeting in Hong Kong that world trade and exchanges, helped by the internet, are rocketing with an ever expanding 'cost-orientated' demand.

Buckman Laboratories are among winners in the 2007 Training Top 125. The Top 125 is a ranking of organisations that excel at human capital development - as determined each year by Training magazine. Buckman are recognized for making sizeable investments in their employees and for doing so strategically and creatively.

Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reports that Ukraine exported leather and leather products worth US$117 million in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 56.8%. Ukrainian imports of the same types of commodities in the January to April period were 24.7% higher year-on-year at US$48 million.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office reports that the production of leather and leather products in Hungary in the first four months of this year was 23.2% higher than in the same period in 2006. Manufacturers' sales of the same types of commodities in the January to April period were 23.5% higher year-on-year, with a decrease in sales of 3.5% on the domestic Hungarian market and 29.2% higher sales on export markets.

More than 280 exhibitors have confirmed their presence in the next edition of Le Cuir A Paris to be held from 18-21 September 2007 in hall 4 of the Parc des Expositions de Paris Nord Villepinte.

Croatia's Central Statistics Bureau reports that the production of leather and leather products in Croatia in the first five months of this year was 23% higher than in the same period in 2006. In comparison, industrial output in Croatia in the January to May period was 8.1% higher year-on-year.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Office of Statistics reports that the production of leather and leather products in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May was 2.7% higher than in April and 15.2% higher than in May 2006. In comparison, industrial output in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May was 3.2% higher month-on-month and 13% higher year-on-year.

At the late June meeting of ASSOMAC, the national association of Italian manufacturers of footwear, leathergoods and tannery machines, held in Vigevano, Giovanni Gaia, stepped down after two years. The four years with Gaia as chairman have been the hardest for the sector: 'The harsh data may have been initially disconcerting but forced us to ask ourselves questions and look for new ways to reassert our right to compete on all markets', said the outgoing chairman.

TheSauerReport.com has moved to new offices in the United Nations quarter in Geneva. The new office address is WCC building, Jura office 337, Route de Ferney 150, Grand Saconnex/Geneva. The new phone number is +41 22 7916538.

The EC has revealed the seizure of thousands of counterfeit shoes and leather jackets in a coordinated February customs' swoop on illicit cargoes in EU international ports.

The European Parliament has approved in principle a directive criminalising the counterfeiting and pirating of goods across the European Union, a serious problem regarding leather products. MEPs, however, excluded patent rights abuse from its scope and also decided its minimum criminal punishments should apply only to deliberate and commercial counterfeiting.

This year's Tanning Tech, which took place alongside the spring edition of Lineapelle and Simac, was greatly reduced in size but the machinery still filled Hall 35 and put on a good show of latest developments in technology. Nearly everyone had something new to show even if it was simply an upgraded version of an old favourite.

When attempting to gauge the success or otherwise of the latest Tanning Tech in Bologna it is first necessary to put the various exhibitions into context. Traditionally Tanning Tech has been held alongside the autumn edition of Lineapelle which is by far the bigger of the two biannual events. The two shows combined led to a full fairground with gridlocked car parks, traffic jams, long taxi queues and a shortage of hotel accommodation.

Zibo Dahuanjiu Polygrace Tannery and Bridge of Weir Leather Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Scottish Leather Group Ltd, have announced the creation of a collaborative business venture to produce automotive leather in China for the domestic motor industry which will meet the very high European automotive leather regulations. The venture is the result of several months of planning, negotiation and product development.

The LANXESS Leather Business Unit has achieved another important milestone in its Asian strategy on the Indian subcontinent.

More than 80 people from all parts of the leather industry supply chain supported the BLC event in Hong Kong which preceded APLF. The key presentations related to the important issues in the leathergoods supply chain: mould, fakes, where to produce - China or India - and meeting RSL requirements.

Chinese companies have invested US$17 million in two new leather production plants that are understood to have become operational in the Trang Bang Industrial Zone in southern Vietnam's Tay Ninh province. No further details were reported.

YES, the APLF was smaller this year but the difference was not that great and the false walls and empty spaces of last year had been eradicated. This is still an important exhibition in global terms and the building works at the convention centre actually worked to the advantage of the leather industry. This was because the tanners, chemicals suppliers and machinery manufacturers were all located in halls one and two so it was much easier for the industry to get together.

LANXESS are on the way to becoming the world's biggest supplier of chrome ore to the chemical industry with 80 million tons of extra reserves found in the chrome ore mine operated by LANXESS in South Africa. 'With these we will be able to safeguard the growth of this profitable business for several decades', said LANXESS management board chairman Axel C Heitmann while visiting the mine in Rustenburg. The mine is run by the Leather business unit and mainly supplies company sites in South Africa and Argentina that process the raw material into products for leather manufacture.