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World outlook


s of 2021, the global cattle herd size was estimated at over 1.1 billion head, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Foreign Agricultural Service. While the total has been on the rise since 2015, it is more than 100 million less than the peak herd size logged in 1989. Herd size ebbs and flows in all the main producing regions, driven by a host of factors that affect how many hides sellers have to offer in a given period. As already mentioned, this is the list of interconnected moving parts that drive slaughter and herd growth or decline. It starts with beef demand (domestic or export) and goes on to


Leather International / www.leathermag.com


Global reach A


include feed costs, margins, labour availability and climate, to name some major factors.


Global beef production and demand The latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) issued by the USDA predicts beef production on a global scale will be up slightly during 2023. Lower slaughter in the US, the largest beef producer, will be offset by growth in the number two and three markets, Brazil and China. Production levels should be unchanged or slightly lower in the European Union, India and Argentina, the fourth, fifth and sixth largest producers,


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As a by-product, cattle hides have a complicated relationship between supply and demand. Of course, demand is the primary driver for sales, but supply plays an important role too. The issue is that there are many moving parts on the supply side and change can be slow to happen. Vera Dordick reports on the state of leather markets around the world.


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