The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed demand for fashion generally and this has reverberated to the leather industry. The hide, which is the largest component of slaughter’s byproducts, only adds about 3 percent to a rancher’s income but has nonetheless been important. A glut of hides in recent years coupled with a drop in U.S. exports has sent the price falling. Because of COVID, the export market for hides and skins fell by 22 percent during the first half of this year compared to 2019. The worse may be yet to come. Some theorize that once animal welfare advocates kill off the fur market, leather will be their next target. The decline in leather sales will not just hurt raw product producers like the U.S. but value-added processor...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.