It is extremely hard to believe what is happening worldwide right now, and just as hard to believe how our very own trade is paralyzed. We are now about to enter the trapping season of 2020 and the fur from 2019 is still, for the most part, unsold.
Sure, some trappers may have been paid when they sold locally, but in the big picture, most of the fur of 2019 is “in transit,” somewhere between the producers (the trappers) and the manufacturers. Many of the local buyers have the fur stored somewhere, waiting either for prices to recover or waiting for calls from manufacturers. A lot of the wild fur also sits in cold storage at Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay, Ontario, and everyone awaits patiently for the next wild fur sale scheduled for August 30-31, 2020 (www.furharvesters.com).
Of course, so many unknowns remain, even the very basic question of whether or not the auction will even be able to occur (and how many buyers will be able to go). Right now, it looks like Canada is slowly starting to function normally again, but the situation is fragile, although we sure hope we can move on and get this auction to happen.
The Trapper’s Fur Market expert Serge Lariviére.
Trappers want to be paid, and so do all of the players that have put money into the skins so far. It is one thing for trappers to wait to be paid a few hundred or a few thousand dollars for their pelts, but when a private buyer has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying goods all over the country, sleeping in motels, eating in restaurants, burning gas, etc., it’s a different story altogether. The bills were paid back in November and December, more than six months ago, so getting paid back is beginning to be urgent.
The fur trade is not an instant thing; fur is produced in late fall and winter, sold in the spring (normally) and trappers typically get paid just before summer starts. But this year will be almost a full year (10 months at least) between the fur caught and the first payment check. That is a long time if you need the money. That is even longer if you had unsold skins from previous years, which also happens when the market is tough — and it certainly has been since 2014-2015. Patience is a natural skill that most trappers have, but with money it’s never easy to be patient.
This situation also creates a new problem for many trappers who have yet to be paid: it is hard to inject new dollars into your hobby (or side job) when you have not been paid for last year’s work yet. It’s tough to decide how seriously you should tackle your 2020 trapline when you are not really sure what the return is expected to be. The truth is, things will sell once the dust settles, but right now, congestion from the bad market has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this whole thing is causing extreme economic uncertainty all over the world. On top of that, getting the product to move has become even harder, and even offering fur to the final customer has stalled.
When fur stores are closed, how can you sell products? Fur coats and fur garments do not sell like smartphones online, each garment is somewhat unique, and for the price, you want to see, touch, feel and try out before you buy. If you can’t get into a store, you are not buying. And if the buying slows down, retailers carry inventory and don’t buy new stuff.
Fur may be there and be dirt cheap, but manufacturers only buy it if they have an outlet for it. Speculators are already loaded with cheaply priced quality goods obtained in past years, so most of them just want to move some goods before they put more money in the trade.
We need the market to open before we can start even thinking about recovery. And the normal functioning of large auction houses is how this trade will recover, which is why we must all watch and hope that Fur Harvesters Auction has a good sale in August. Other auction houses that sell ranch mink have tried various ways to move goods through online sales and such, but the results have been very humble, both in price and in quantities sold. When I say everything is stalled, it is not just here with wild fur, it is worldwide with ranch mink, as well. The entire fur trade is in a deep coma right now.
Every week I receive e-mails of more attempts to revive the trade, some private sales happening, etc. The players are still there. The demand is still there. Fur is still in fashion. There are still many people who want it and are willing to buy it. Certainly, the uncertainty we face because of COVID-19 is making some people nervous. Talks of recession never help. Luxury goods sell best when life is great and peaceful. When your health may be threatened and the economy is shaking, people hold off on large expenses and play it safe. If we had just come out of a record year for prices, maybe some folks would have reserves to live on while waiting for this pandemic to pass, but such is not the case. Most of the big players were already weak before the pandemic — so imagine how they are surviving now.
The largest auction house of wild fur in the world, North American Fur Auctions, had to stop its operations before the pandemic because of money issues. Well, let me illustrate what this means. If one person in the room full of people dies of starvation, you can assume that no one in that room is eating to full satisfaction. The same with our trade. NAFA’s situation only tells you that everyone else is hungry, and that the remaining survivors are fighting. Some are in good positions and can wait, but no business can go on if there is no flow of money coming in on a regular basis. The wheel absolutely must start turning again, and soon, otherwise there will be other players leaving the table.
What does this mean for you as you get ready to hit the woods? I would suggest that you call your local buyer and ask what are likely going to be their needs. Watch the results of the auction at Fur Harvesters. Don’t expect to receive any more than what you did last time you sold, prices may not drop much, but there are few reasons to expect any rise in prices on anything. Many expect the coyote fur bubble to burst soon, so if you catch them, sell them when you can. If you trap beavers, castor glands likely will bring you more money than the fur itself.
The rest? It’s difficult to tell until we see the wheel start turning again. There won’t be any miracles happening anytime soon — but we can just hope that this pandemic mess is resolved so that we can go back to normal with our trapping adventures. In the meantime, stay safe.
The fields and forests are good places to be when you want to be safe from COVID-19.
Mousing Fox Takes a Nose Dive
