Last Sunday the SWAKARA Auction in Kopenhagen was highly successful where pelt prices increased by 68% compared to the September 2005 auction, Agra annunced. According to Wessel Visser, Agra’s manager of the Swakara Pelt Centre the highest price ever achieved was N$ 643 per pelt, for 72 Swakara Black D Selected Super pelts bought by Demelias Fur for Akris in Switzerland. During the September 2005 auction the highest price was N$ 506.

The average price obtained at Sunday’s auction increased from N$ 255 to N$ 404, which is also the highest average price ever obtained. Total furs offered Sunday were 56,672 excluding white furs bringing N$ 23 million foreign exchange earned for Namibia at one auction. Buyers came from Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, USA, Greece, Israel and Japan. The largest number of furs was purchased by a well known fur broker from Hong Kong on behalf of several international fashion houses. Accurate and detailed N$ - prices per grade will be made available on the Agra website at www.agra.com.na next week..

Buyers expressed their disappointment about the quantities available at the auction and are urging Swakara farmers to increase their production significantly. At Sunday’s auction, Swakara pelts were sold under the new quality labeling system, "The Purple Club" developed by Kopenhagen Fur, for the first time. Despite having to conform to stringent quality control requirements, Swakara is the only pelt which is sorted in its country of origin. This can be attributed to the consistent high standard of value addition during the sorting process at the Windhoek Agra pelt centre.

For Agra and Swakara, being part of the labeling system, represents an internationally recognized quality grading system. Being part of Kopenhagen Fur’s labeling scheme means that Swakara pelts are part of Kopenhagen Fur’s marketing programme and are promoted together with the other skin types who are already part of this scheme, namely mink, fox and chinchilla. The four available label types are Copenhagen Purple, Copenhagen Platinum, Copenhagen Burgundy and Copenhagen Ivory. 

Peter Matthiessen (from left), Swakara buyer; Jeremy Duffield-Harding, chief pelt sorter at Agra; Wessel Visser, the Manager for Karakul at Agra and Mr Johannes Fleermuys, member of the Karakul Board of Namibia after the successful Swakara auction at Copenhagen Fur where 56,672 Swakara furs were sold at record prices.