AFP 29 October 08 Economic crisis bites Indonesian python exporters
Jakarta: Demand among US and European consumers for exotic Asian luxuries such as snakes and coral has nosedived since the onset of the global financial crisis, raising fears of a surge in smuggling.
Indonesian python traders say Western snake lovers are feeling the pinch, or bite, of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, meaning orders for all things scaly are on the slide.
"So far this October the orders for live pythons from the US and Europe are only 10 to 20 percent of what they were in October last year," George Saputra of the Indonesian Reptile and Amphibian Trade Association told AFP.
"The economic downturn also means people are buying less python skin products, as snakeskin is used to make items for a lifestyle that is of secondary importance now."
Whether it's live pythons for high-end exotic pet stores or skins for rock-chic pants, handbags and belts, exporters said snakes appeared to be out this northern summer.
Best known for adorning rock stars like Keith Richards, snakeskin went high-end in Europe in the early 2000s thanks to designers including Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein and Jimmy Choo.
In 2000 an Yves Saint Laurent snakeskin trench coat reportedly sold for 9,250 dollars, and four years later designer snakeskin shoulder bags were priced at more than 2,000 dollars.
But as US and European consumers seek to make savings in the wake of the Wall Street meltdown, the belts they tighten are more likely to be made of cheap imitation leather than an Asian reticulated python.
And that means tough times ahead for the roughly 180,000 people reportedly employed in the Indonesian snake trade.
"The industry is holding on to their employees now but I think lay-offs are coming. My advice to them is to cut down on their production," Saputra said.
Tonny Wahyu of Penta Exomania, an exporter of live pythons, monitor lizards and frogs, said he was worried for the future of his lucrative niche markets in the United States and Europe, and for the future of the reptiles.
"I'm considering developing alternative markets such as Japan and South Korea," the Java-based reptile breeder said.
"But Asian importers can be harder to deal with. Japanese importers are stricter than the American or European importers. If a nail from a reptile is broken or damaged, the Japanese importers will reject it," he said.
Exporters said the falling demand for legally exported snakes could lead to a boom in smuggling.
"If the legal export of reptiles is slowing, then I fear the illegal trade of reptiles will be more rampant," Tony said.
"For example, the komodo dragons are endangered and their trade is prohibited, but somehow they are still exported illegally."
TRAFFIC, a group that monitors legal and illegal trade in undomesticated animals, reported that total python exports from Indonesia into the European Union from 2000-2007 was 405,413 specimens, with 87,372 to the United States.
Reticulated pythons, which are among the largest snakes in the world and are capable of crushing and swallowing a human, are coveted for their attractive diamond markings.
This year, Indonesia's export quota for reticulated pythons is 157,500 for skins or skin products, and 4,500 for pets, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, or CITES.
Corals from some of Indonesia's thousands of tropical reefs are another niche export market which could be hard-hit by a global recession.
Handoko Prawiro, who has been exporting coral and live tropical fish to upmarket US and European aquariums since the early 1980s, said the trade depended on people with money to indulge their hobbies.
"Aquarium lovers are mostly consumers with a lot of time and cash to spare. The economic crisis could hurt the affluent people who are among my customers," he said.
Hammer, candy and sunflower corals legally harvested from the reefs of Makassar and Banyuwangi can sell wholesale to US distributers for up to 40 dollars apiece, he said.
Like Tony, Prawiro said diversification might be the answer and he was eyeing new opportunities in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
"I know hard times are here but human beings will always need entertainment and this is a new kind of entertainment for some," he said.
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AFP 29 October 08 Thai crocs feel bite as financial woes dull taste for luxury goods
Samut Prakan, Thailand: At the Elite Thai Leather factory in Bangkok, craftsman contort tough Thai crocodile hides into any style of luxury handbag a fashion designer wants.
Bright blue handbags made from the dyed rough hide with the intact crocodile head transformed into a clasp are a huge hit in Asia, while Europeans prefer their accessories made from the smoother skin from the reptile's belly.
Luckily for all but the reptile itself, the ridge-headed, smooth-bellied Siamese crocodile meets both those needs and has helped send the Thai reptile hide industry rocketing.
But despite its many qualities, even the tough-skinned Thai croc is not immune to the global financial slowdown, which has seen stock markets around the world plummet as consumers tighten their purse strings.
Last year, Elite Thai Leather earned about 10 million baht (293,000 dollars) selling exotic leather products, said president Panotkorn Usaiphan.
Until late summer, the company's plans to earn the same this year seemed on target, he said, with orders between January and August "normal".
But exports began to fall in September and October.
As demand drops for crocodile handbags, shoes and even the meat of the reptile, those who raise the raw material are starting to feel the bite of a looming global recession.
"My product is luxurious goods, so the global financial crisis has already affected my business for the past three to four months," says Arporn Samakit, of Sriracha Crocodile Farm, which exports about 3,600 croc skins each year.
"My total sales in local and foreign markets have dropped to six to seven million baht per month, down from ten million baht per month. Next year is not likely to get better," she told AFP.
David Chiu, Thai Leathergoods Association president, said he expected all leather exports to drop up to ten percent next year on the back of financial woes.
But although the credit crunch is prompting people to strike luxury handbags from their shopping lists, Kanya Amorntheerakul of Thailand's Department of Export Promotion says the industry can adapt.
"Europe is down, but we try to gear for new markets," she said, citing fast-growing India and China as possible new customer bases.
Between 2002-2006, Thailand's yearly exports of live Siamese crocodiles more than doubled, while exports of skins rose to 31,983, from 3,795, according to the United Nations Environment Programme's conservation monitoring centre.
Exports of the animal's meat -- an increasingly popular exotic treat -- rose to nearly 400 tonnes in 2006, from about 25 tonnes (55,000 pounds) in 2002.
Thailand has also managed to turn crocodiles into a comprehensive industry, starting at the farms that have been turned into tourist attractions.
At the Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from Bangkok, tourists are entertained by musclemen who wrestle crocodiles to a thumping rock and roll backbeat.
Just beyond the shows and trolley tours are some 60,000 crocs destined to become belts, bags and steaks. Indeed, Panotkorn's bright blue crocodile skin handbag once sunned itself in the enclosure of the Samut Prakarn farm.
Although other crocodiles are reared in Thailand, the Siamese species accounts for 87 percent of the kingdom's crocodile skin exports and all of its crocodile meat exports.
Before being transformed into a handbag or a belt, the Siamese crocodile is dark olive green dappled with black, three metres (about 10 feet) long, smaller and more docile than the saltwater variety also native to Thailand.
Almost extinct in the wild and featured in only a few zoos around the world, the Siamese is almost exclusively found in the hundreds of small crocodile farms that dot the Mekong river.
The farms range from tiny, illegal family-owned operations to the sprawling Samut Prakan Zoo.
The Siamese crocodile is also, apparently, tasty and healthy, and is often sold for novelty appeal in Europe and America.
Fancy restaurants offer the reptile as an alternative to beef and several online companies offer Thai crocodile alongside zebra, springbok, kangaroo and other exotic edibles.
"Crocodile meat is delicious -- no fat, no cholesterol," said Arporn.
One British company charges 15 pounds (nearly 26 dollars) for a 290-gram (10.2-ounce) can of Thai-made crocodile curry -- and it is this sort of luxury that Thailand's crocodile trade is hoping can endure the financial crisis.
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