In the Global Market , Demand for Leather (Products) said to be Gloomy during the ending Week
In the US there was increasing downward pressure on cow hide prices connected to the higher kill figures. The total commercial cow kill for the first 6 months of the year is estimated to end up 3% over the same period last year (a record figure since 1996). Hides and Skins net sale were down 10 percent from the previous week.
Turkey tanners seem to have problem of cash to pay their skin purchases while Chinese tanners are doing all they can to push the prices of UK spring lambs down.
Business is also said slow and difficult in Italy. A number of contracts concluded for July arrivals are now asked to be delayed till after 10th September. But sales continue
Bangladesh’s export in leather sector, however, increased by 64% during the period July 2012-May 2013 compared to the same period a year before. Lower production costs leading to cheaper products prices might have attracted buyers, but considering the recent disasters in the textile industry in this country, many question the working conditions under which leather and leather products are made.
Court Ruling Over Hide Symbol Dispute in Italy
Italian lawyer Paolo Viscuso has published details of a court case in Milan earlier this year in which Italian tanning industry association, UNIC, was told it had no right to ask for the seizure of goods that use the well known symbol for real leather, the outline of a hide.
UNIC first filed a trademark application for the hide outline, known in Italy as the vacchetta or ‘little cow’, in 1977. According to Mr Viscuso, an anomaly grew up in Italy in which UNIC “asked for and frequently obtained” the seizure of goods that it believed were using the symbol without its authorisation.
After one such incident, French shoe brand Chaussures Eram filed a lawsuit against UNIC. Mr Viscuso has now reported that the court in Milan found in favour of Eram and against UNIC because Eram argued successfully that the hide symbol had been in widespread use in many countries before 1977.
Eram told the court that a version of the symbol was being used in France and being recognised by French consumers as long ago as 1925. A similar symbol began to be used in the US in 1961, in the UK in 1968 and in Germany in 1973.
“The most important consequence is that the judgment rectified an Italian anomaly relating to the use of the ‘vacchetta’ device,” Mr Viscuso said. “Before the decision, the contested mark was freely used by the tanning community in other countries of the European Union. In Italy, however, Unic enjoyed a unique monopoly, and frequently asked for and obtained the seizure of goods based on its trademark rights. Such a situation created significant uncertainty.”
He explained that the court decision has not yet been made final and said that decisions on the use of the hide symbol with the words ‘vero cuoio’ and ‘vera pelle’, also subject to trademarks.
Mr Viscuso told leatherbiz he did not know the reason for the delay in finalising the original decision and for reaching decisions on the follow-up questions. But he said that in the past UNIC has charged a fee to “third parties” to use the symbol.
Source: http://www.leatherbiz.com/fullitem2.aspx?id=130135
COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute, UNCTAD, Commonwealth Secretariat and African Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) Co-organized Workshop Successfully Completed
The workshop on Strengthening Regional supply Chains in Leather Sector in Sub-Sahara Africa, co-organized by COMESA-LLPI, UNCTAD, COMSec and Exim Bank, took place from June 6 to 7, 2013 at Nexus Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The workshop involved important sectoral stakeholders, i.e. tanners, exporters, manufacturers, investors, academicians and policy makers. A total of 35 officials and sector representatives (8 public and 19 private sector participants drawn from Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and 8 other representatives from international and regional organizations, namely: UNCTAD, COMESec, COMESA and COMESALLPI) attended the workshop.
The workshop was centered in identifying and promoting regional leather sector supply chains to assist African countries in value addition of the sector and diversification of their export. To that end, a total of 9 papers were presented and thoroughly discussed.
At the end of the workshop participates identified nine key recommendations that are for most part consistent with the Strategic Objectives of COMESA/LLPI.
After reviewing the evaluation of the participants, it was found that participants were satisfied with workshop organization, contents and delivery of the presentations, and also indicated areas that require attention for further improvement.
Kenya Leather Sector institutions pool synergies to improve productivity
At the forum held in Eastland Hotel Nairobi on 19th June 2013, participants unanimously agreed to form strategic linkages between the Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC), Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) and Kenya Livestock Marketing Council (KLMC) to create a competitive edge for Kenyan livestock and livestock products.
Read the whole story Press Release, Kenya Leather Development Council (pdf).
