Easy access at the tip of your fingers, subscribe to our daily ePaper version of our New Era Newspaper.
Home / Swakara pelts sell like hot cakes in Copenhagen
Swakara pelts sell like hot cakes in Copenhagen
2017-10-03Staff Report 2 Staff Reporter Windhoek-Agra Swakara Services sold all 39 007 pelts on offer at the recent auction, which was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. An average price of N$496.98 was achieved, which is a decrease of 0.79 percent compared to the April 2017 price. Sold at the auction were 23 518 black, 8 866 white, 2 338 gray, 593 brown, 2 696 spotted and 996 diverse pelts and the highest price fetched was N$3 515,94 for a white Swakara. In April 2017, an average price of N$500.94 was achieved for 52 221 pelts, Agra said in a media statement. The biggest buyer was Europe Fur Co, which is based in Hong Kong, followed by Bourtsos of Greece. R H Losper was the top Namibian producer with 279 pelts, which achieved an average price of N$802.52. W A Knoesen was the top South African producer with 254 pelts that achieved an average price of R661.22. The top lot for white Swakara achieved N$3 515,94. This is the highest price ever paid for a top lot for white Swakara. The top lot for black Swakara achieved N$2 647.30. The buyer of both top lots was LaoPanPicao, a fur retailer from Harbin, China. Kevin Wan, the representative of LaoPanPicao, and Chris Cui, president of Kopenhagen Fur’s Beijing office, were part of a delegation of 13 business leaders from the Chinese fur trade, who visited Namibia last year to familiarise themselves with Swakara fur operations in the country. The group visited the farm of Reinhold Schreiber, accompanied by the Karakul Board chairman, Raimar von Hase, where they were shown how Swakara pelts are produced and prepared for auction in Copenhagen twice a year. The average price for black Swakara pelts was N$459.04, and the white pelts achieved N$767.66. The biggest increase at the auction was 54.51 percent for spotted pelts, with an average of N$257.40. Diverse pelts sold for N$185.33 compared to an average of N$177.15 in April 2017. Grey and brown pelts, which are sold only once a year because of low quantities, achieved N$286.78 and N$396.03, respectively. The total turnover for the auction was N$19 385 661.57 with the pelt offer being bought by 23 successful bidders. The biggest single buyer of Swakara pelts was Hong Kong-based company, Europe Fur Co. Ltd, which purchased 32 lots with 6 619 pelts for the Chinese market. They were followed by Bourtsos from Greece with 5 724 pelts and Fur Eco from Italy with 5 399 pelts. Agra chief executive officer, Arnold Klein, who also attended the auction, said the Swakara industry once again had a good international pelt auction, amid a fur market that is experiencing an overproduction of mink skins, and that has not fully recovered from the recent global economic crisis. 2017-10-03Staff Report 2
