FAIR Project Improving Hide and Skin Quality a project funded by the European Commission The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of its publishers and it in no way represents the views of the Commission or its services.

Newsletter No 1 (1998)

Introduction

This first Newsletter covering the Concerted Action - Improving Hide and Skin Quality - between ten European partners under the auspices of COTANCE (the European Tanners Association) represents a public launch of the Project and is intended to set the scene in each of the partner countries.

The general objective of the project is to encourage and co-ordinate moves towards improving the quality of the hides and skins available to the leather industry. This improvement is essential for the long term viability of Europe’s tanning industry. In a highly competitive world market and increasing low cost production in developing countries, the European tanning industry needs to be confident of receiving good quality hides and skins which will enable it to continue to operate successfully by supplying the high quality sector of the leather market. The project will link together researchers in different EU countries to exchange information and ultimately identify priorities for further research. Project input will come from partners in UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, The Netherlands, Sweden and Finland and from COTANCE, the European Tanners Association.

Country Summaries

Italy

The total Italian turn-over in the leather sector (11.000 billion liras; 60% of the European production and 15% at world level) is linked to the excellent quality of the production, styling and ability to interpret fashion trends and technological innovation. Italy produces about 4.6 million cattle hides a year, but this falls well below the level required by the tanning industry. The failure of the domestic market to fully supply the requirement of raw material to Italian tanneries necessitates the purchase from international markets. However, protectionism by certain raw material producing countries (Argentina, Brazil, India, Pakistan, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, etc,) confounds this problem.

Over the past few years European tanneries have seen great deterioration in the quality of their domestic hides and skins and it is no longer possible for the sector to compete on a price basis against cheap imports. Ectoparasites on cattle such as hypodermosis, psoroptes and sarcoptic mange have become more prominent and are spreading widely within the present animal population, due to the increased trade in livestock.

Problems arise during tanning to wet blue, because the material imported has not been completely processed. Defects due the live animal transportation also show up at this point. Another problem is due to the inconsistency of the imported material which creates difficulties when organising production.

As far as the raw hide and skin trading situation is concerned in Italy, no direct contacts have been made between the breeders, butchers or slaughterhouses. The flaying, salting and recovery are standardised in the bigger companies, but the greatest problem is the gradual worsening of hide and skin quality.

The more important slaughterhouses do not have yet any facilities for the salting of hides and skins and so this is done outside. There are many small and medium sized slaughterhouses where skins are recovered, but they are not divided into homogeneous lots. In Southern Italy the situation is not quite the same as a large number of animals are transported to the North of the country to be slaughtered, with negative effects on the quality of the meat, hides and skins. The import of live animals is very important in Italy, but is less controlled from the hides and skins quality point of view.

Spain

Spain currently has 555 abattoirs with about 50 hide markets/collectors. There are 255 tanneries of which 190 are processing from the raw hide/skin state. Spain produces annually about 2 million cattle hides and calf skins, and about 20 million sheepskins.

Rawstock Preservation

Cattle hides are normally salted. Salt used to preserve lambskins consists of smaller granules than that used to salt cow hides.

Lambskins
There are two different processes to preserve the skin
1. Drying process
2. Salting process

1. Drying process
In order to dry raw skins, they must be hung on a bar by the backbone with the flesh side up. This process takes up to a week, depending on the atmospheric conditions.

This drying process may be carried out in the open air. This is the best method to obtain good quality dried lambskins. Alternatively, the drying can take place in a temperature chamber, although this may reduce the skin quality if the temperature exceeds 30oC.

2. Salting process
This system consists of setting the lambskins out on a table with the flesh side up and applying the salt grains by hand. Care should be taken to ensure that the skin sides or edges are well salted.

Cattle Hides
Once the hides are cold, they must be set out on the floor with the flesh side up. Subsequently, the salt is spread over each one by means of a shovel. The hides must be piled until they reach a height of 1.00 or 1.20 metres. Then they must be covered with salt and left to drain for a period of time that can take between 10/15 days to one month.

Greece

Trading of Greek Raw Hides and Skins

1. Hides
Large independent traders located throughout Greece collect the cowhides from the slaughterhouses. These collectors/traders salt the hides and store them until they are sold to the tanners. The majority of the countries raw hides are processed in Greece. The biggest quality problem is knife cuts as a result of hand flaying due to a lack of hide stripping equipment. However, newer slaughterhouses are now using machinery due to pressure from Greek tanners.

2. Skins
Regarding small skins, flaying is done either in slaughterhouses or butcher’s shops. Local collectors/traders collect the skins and preserve them.

Normally they dry or wet salt the skins. In this condition they are sold either to the big traders for export or to the tanners for production.

At the moment the main problems come from poor flaying and from unsuitable preservation. Due to this problem the big traders are carrying out extra salting and keeping the skins in suitable cold stores at temperatures around 2-4oC.

In the new slaughterhouses machine flaying is followed by immediate and correct preservation in the slaughterhouse. This system will solve the problems as most of the hides and skins are exported as raw or wet blue.

Germany

Germany currently has 300 abattoirs with all the hides produced being collected by 40 dealers (80% of the hides are collected by three main dealers). Germany has 60 tanneries with 25 processing raw cattle hides. The percentage of hides traded fresh to German tanneries is 60% with 45% of local hides actually processed in German tanneries. The total production of cattle hides per annum is 170.000t with 120.000t exported and 40.000t imported.

The basis of German leather production is the raw hides and skins that are the by-products of the meat and milk industry. The most important raw materials for the German leather industry are calf skins and cattle hides. Germany has a total cattle population of 15 million and produces annually 4.5 million cattle hides and half million calf skins.

The hides and skins are collected daily by hide dealers at the slaughterhouses. The larger slaughterhouses preserve the raw material with ice in small containers directly after flaying. 60% of the cattle hides are traded fresh to the tanneries, with the remainder salted for export.

In Germany an association for hide and skin improvement has existed for 15 years, named Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsche Qualitätshaut e. V. (ADH). The ADH is a joint venture between the German leather industry, hide dealers and pharmaceutical companies.

The central task of the ADH is to advise on animal production to avoid hide defects such as diseases (lice, mange, trichophytie) and to carry out research into hide quality.

Netherlands

The Netherlands has a population of about 3.7 million cattle plus about 0.7 million calves. Annual slaughterings total about 1.1 million cattle and about 1.3 million calves.Hides and skins are collected from the abattoirs by hide traders who negotiate prices, generally weekly, although some longer term contracts are reported to be in place.

The secretariat of the Dutch Tanners Association (VNL) also operates the national hide improvement group.

Sweden

The Hide and Skin Trade and Improving Quality Program

The main trading company for hides and skins in Sweden is Kontrollhudar International (KHI) in Kävlinge. KHI is the sales company of the SCAN Group, which is a producer/farmer owned association of slaughterhouses. The SCAN Group consists of 9 slaugherhouses handling cattle as well as sheep and lambs. Approximately 90% of the hides are chilled at these slaughterhouses and directly transported to KHI warehouse in Varberg during the night after slaughter. At the warehouse all hides are salted and sorted. The remaining Swedish hides are traded by private companies, these being Frost Trading AB in Stockholm, Transhud AB in Malmö and Hansson & Partners in Stockholm. Frost Trading sorts and salts hides supplied from the larger slaughterhouses, and also buys hides wetsalted from their slaughterhouses. The system of trading hides and skins is quite concentrated, with four hide markets/collectors, and four tanneries which process raw hides. In total between 0.4 and 0.5 million bovine hides are produced each year.

KHI has started up a program in Sweden for hide quality improvement. The structure of the KHI organisation enables payment to farmers of SEK 130.-/hide on condition that the following measurements are undertaken by the farmer:

1. Only electric fences are used.
2. Calves are dehorned.
3. Anti-ectoparasitic agents are used.
4. Ringworm vaccination is used if necessary.
5. Animals are kept clean from manure.

This program is called the Golden Hide Scheme. So far there has been a striking improvement in hide quality. Currently 15,000 farmers have agreed to join the programme, resulting in the production of 60,000 "Golden Hides" per year.

France

France each year produces about 4 million cattle hides,just under 2 million calf skins and about 6.5 million sheepskins. France has just over 100 tanneries. The abattoirs sell hides and skins to dealers, who may use local collectors on a contract basis and the dealers then sell on to the tanning industry. It is reported that prices are normally agreed monthly.

Finland

Finland also has a compact hide and skin trading structure. Finland produces about 0.4 million hides a year. The number of abattoirs and hide traders is small, and there are about ten tanneries.