Several sellers reported a slow week of hide trading in the week ended June 14, due to limited needs to purchase new material while leather demand remained poor and increased competition from European suppliers.

A US packer reported that tanners were resistant to open letters of credit due to the wariness of the near-term outlook for the leather market. Several buyers in various leather sectors reported sufficient inventories of wet blue and cured hides; therefore, they had no need to add more to their stocks.

European suppliers faced minimal demand, so they pushed to move material into the Asian market, according to several sources. This increased the competition for US products, which contributed to the minimal demand received this week.

Actual slaughter by classification

Table 1

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