JANUA RY 2 014
MARKET UPDATE NAFA’s Paul Philipse, Manager Market & Business Analysis, Europe NAFA Welcomes Wayne Booth ... see back page
65 Skyway Ave. Toronto, ON M9W 6C7 Canada | tel: +1.416.675.9320 | fax: +1.416.675.6865 | www.nafa.ca
NAFPRO – Working around the clock for you! Since November 2004, NAFA’s pelt processing plant in Stoughton, Wisconsin has been increasing its capacity, improving processes and serving our ranchers with a state of the art pelting facility. This year is no different – over 900,000 pelts will be processed for the February 2014 auction. In its infancy, NAFPRO processed 245,000 pelts and over the last four years NAFPRO has processed 1.1 million pelts per season from ranchers from the U.S. and Canada. “The idea behind NAFPRO is to provide our ranchers with quality and efficiency. Every year, we evaluate the overall successes of the facility and aim to always improve efficiency while ensuring maximum value for the ranchers,” said Denis Schmitt, NAFA’s Senior Vice President of Rancher Relations. “Ranchers tell me that having their pelts processed at NAFPRO helps them in many ways. The quality of the product at the end, along with the ease of pick-up and transportation make the service valuable,” said Schmitt. “The plant is also located in the grading facility which means that pelts are graded as soon as the processing is complete. They are not packed into a box awaiting shipment.” NAFPRO’s staff maintains a close working relationship with the major processing equipment manufacturers. This relationship allows NAFPRO to stay current with the advances made in pelt processing equipment and techniques. Constant assessment and evaluation of the final product are key to providing our ranchers with top quality processing.
Market Outlook With the New Year upon us and the 2014 auction season fast approaching, the focus of attention across the global fur industry is now clearly centered on what to expect in the coming year. Most industry observers agree a correction in the marketplace is underway because of several factors, including the following:
- The two Scandinavian auctions in December produced weaker than expected results, creating a very different tone in the market heading into the new season.
- Cold weather has been slow to come to the major markets of China and Russia and thus, the retail season in these key centers has been slower than we might have otherwise hoped for.
- An increase in scrutiny of the trade by the Chinese government has resulted in intensified inspections and new controls being implemented. This has resulted in additional caution among the international buying community. However, on the good news front, the Chinese government has recently taken steps to reduce the current import tariffs on fur, which should have some positive impact on the market.
Consequently, for these and other reasons, the overall market isn’t as robust as it was a year ago at this time. At this point, it is difficult to determine whether this will be short-lived or have a longer lasting effect. Nevertheless, NAFA has experienced fluctuations of this nature in the past; we have steered our way through these troubled markets before and our producers have benefitted because of our steady and experienced approach. This experience will benefit our consignors once again. Over the course of the next month, NAFA will monitor the situation carefully and a solid plan is in place to deal with the uncertainty. A team of eight members of NAFA’s senior management team will blanket Hong Kong and China over the course of the next month and leading up to the February auction. Senior management will also conduct a tour of other key fur markets in the world and buyer solicitation is increasing. International agents are contacting leads and searching out new opportunities. It is also important to remember that with challenges, come opportunities. These new challenges have created the occasion for our marketing team to explore new and unique ways to market your furs. Chinese New Year falls on January 31st this year - which leaves several weeks of the Chinese retail selling season left and opportunity for changes in the market. As the selling season approaches, NAFA will continue to update you on the marketplace and the feedback we are receiving from key fur markets around the world.
Paul Philipse, Manager Market & Business Analysis, Europe As NAFA’s new Manager of Market & Business Analysis, Paul Philipse is ready for the challenge. For over sixteen years, Paul has worked with NAFA in various roles – as a marketing representative working in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany – and in data management, among others. Over the years, he’s honed his skills and learned many aspects of the fur trade through grading courses in Toronto, speaking and working with ranchers and attending international auctions and trade events. Paul began his career with NAFA in 1997 but before that, he studied extensively at university and was always focussed on animal sciences and agriculture. His internships were spent at dairy farms in The Netherlands and France and agricultural universities in The Netherlands and Ireland. In his new role, Paul will be responsible for ensuring that all of NAFA’s European and North American solicitors and agents have the information they need to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. He will be responsible for auction analysis, fur trade related reporting, web-site fine tuning and development. “This has always been something I’ve wanted to concentrate on. I want to ensure this becomes less of a ‘side dish’ for NAFA and more of a ‘main dish’ to ensure that our solicitors can be the best in the business,” said Philipse. “Our solicitors play a very important role - visiting ranchers and other tasks. My new focus will be on helping the ranchers with the information they need to keep them updated on the latest market conditions so they can make business decisions accordingly.” In addition to this, Philipse will also be soliciting in The Netherlands and Belgium and working on new projects in close cooperation with Sebastian Jansen, NAFA’s Senior Vice President & Director in Europe.
Wayne Booth, Director of Rancher Relations, Canada Effective November 11th, Wayne Booth has joined the NAFA Rancher Relations team in the role of Director, Rancher Relations Canada. Wayne graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree majoring in Animal Science and Agricultural Business & Marketing. Wayne comes to NAFA with 20 years of progressive agri-business experience including feed and genetic sales, corporate business development and management, large-scale animal and crop production, commodity trading, food production logistics and agricultural data analysis. He also understands and has been involved with government and political advocacy in agriculture. Recently Wayne has consulted for a number of pork production companies, managing over 60,000 North American slaughter hogs annually for independent investor groups. He currently resides near Fergus, ON with his wife, two daughters and two Newfoundland dogs. His skills and vast experiences will bring an added dimension to the NAFA Rancher Relations team. Wayne can be contacted at w_booth@nafa.ca. Please welcome Wayne to our team!
Auction Dates: February 17 – 23, 2014
inspection from february 12, 2014
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