COPENHAGEN, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Danish mink farmers are facing significant revenue losses as supply far exceeds market demand, according to official statistics and a local fur auction house.
"At the moment, there is an imbalance in the market due to an overproduction of mink skins," Soeren Jessing Jespersen, chief communication officer at Copenhagen Fur, a fur auction house, told Xinhua on Monday. "Production is going down at the moment and a renewed balance between demand and supply is in sight but skins are sold at prices below production price."
Danish fur farmers are efficient and produce high-quality skins, but the current situation in the fur market was not a matter of efficiency, he added.
The asking price for mink pelts has fallen dramatically as producers' efficiency rises.
"When rent, wages, and feed are factored in, the cost of producing a pelt is around 280 DKK (41.75 U.S. dollars) ... we can only sell it for 230 DKK (34.29 dollars)," Ann-Mona Kulsoe Larsen, owner of Nordgaarden mink farm, told the local TV DR.
According to Danmarks Statistik, the national statistical agency, Danish mink breeders are facing an average loss of 90,000 DKK (about 13,419 dollars) as recorded in 2018.
"Most skins are sold to China where they are manufactured and made into finished garments," said Jespersen.
Danish mink breeders own Copenhagen Fur. The mink breeders create employment for 6,000 people and make contributions to Danish exports.
