Namibia sends 41,500 Swakara pelts to the Copenhagen Fur Auction
Namibia send a consignment of 41,500 Swakara pelts to the Copenhagen Fur Auction House on Thursday and is expected to arrive by 5 March. The pelts are expected to go under the hammer in Denmark on 18 March.
Swakara Pelt Centre’s manager, Jaco van Zyl this week said that the exchange rate is currently not very favourable for sales after the South African Rand which is linked to the Namibia dollar recently strengthened against the U.S Dollar.
“Currently, we are 6% worse off in Namibian Dollar compared to the Sept. 2017 auction. Nonetheless, with our smaller offer we should not struggle to sell our pelts. But if our offer shrinks even further, important buyers will be losing interest because they cannot fulfil their orders,” he said.
According to him in total 43,500 pelts were submitted by swakara producers. All pelts handed in at the various Agra branches, are sent to the pelt centre in Windhoek, where it is sorted and packed.
“After the rejects as well as the grey and brown pelts were withdrawn, we were able to send about 41 500 pelts to Copenhagen.The number of white and spotted pelts are about 6% more, compared to April 2017’s offer,” he said.
Meanwhile, Van Zyl said during February’s mink and chinchilla auction in Copenhagen, 99% of all pelts were sold, with a small increase that was noticed in prices.
“Especially the chinchilla, which is, like swakara, a small offer was sold at good prices. Winters in America, Europe and Russia were cold, which is generally good for fur sales,” Van Zyl added.
Meanwhile, Van Zyl said that the Swakara Council’s chairperson, Julene Meyer, travelled to China at the end of 2017 and returned with positive feedback from prospective Chinese buyers.
Swakara is a relatively well-known fur in China and is increasingly gaining ground in the Chinese fashion-scene.
