January 28

The rawhide fresh prices are steady, ending the continuous rise of weeks ago. The upward trend seems to have reached its limit. The halt is not from excess supply, but due to less demand. Therefore, slaughter is poor. Some frigorificos have worked only 3 or 4 days these weeks.

On the other hand, automotive upholstery demand remains strong. Good quality Buenos Aires wet salted heavy steers are quoting unchanged from last week, at about US$0.26 per kg.

Demand on upper crust, leather goods and finished leather remains scarce and at low prices.

There is an issue about the cost of fattening cattle in feedlots due to the rise of grain prices. Therefore, extensive fattening is increasing, which would lead to lower weight animals or a lack of cattle in the next few weeks.

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