Thousands of sheepskins to be burned this autumn

At least 35,000 sheepskins will be burned this autumn because exporting them is no longer profitable.

“The price has now fallen so low that it does not make sense for us to try and export our sheepskins, especially the white ones,” says Jógvan Nordendal, manager of family firm Oikos, which for many years has been exporting Faroese wool.

Most of the exports are sent to Poland, where the wool is tanned. Some of the tanned skins are sent back to the Faroes, while the rest is sold internationally.

No longer viable

But the Polish merchant has now lowered the price of white sheepskins so much that Oikos’ export activities are no longer financially viable.

“We have received about 35,000 sheepskins per year in the past few years. About a third of them are white, and the price of white sheepskins has now dropped to DKK 12-15 per skin, which leaves us with a deficit if we sell them,” says Nordendal.

Translated by prosa.fo