Greek fur industry on a path to recovery in 2026 due to high demand from China

The Greek fur manufacture has entered a betterment trajectory since the opening of 2026, driven by a surge successful wholesale request from Chinese buyers pursuing the highly challenging conditions of 2025.

The assemblage is besides expressing strong expectations for the upcoming 51st Kastoria International Fur Fair, which is expected to beryllium adjacent much outward-looking, while besides marked by a displacement toward caller designs and colour palettes.

As Apostolos Tsoukas, President of the Kastoria Fur Association and the Hellenic Fur Federation, noted, since January—and mostly owed to the peculiarly harsh winter experienced successful China—Chinese buyers are efficaciously “purchasing whatever is available,” arsenic home accumulation is insufficient to conscionable interior demand.

Indicative of the market’s rebound was the caller (March 2026) fur auction successful Helsinki, Finland, where a wide betterment successful assemblage enactment was recorded. A total of 3.4 cardinal pelts were sold (compared to 2.6 cardinal successful March 2025), with prices posting a important increase. China was the ascendant market, with notable information from South Korea, Turkey and Greece.

According to Tsoukas, Chinese consumers look to amusement constricted penchant for synthetic oregon plastic-based products, expressing optimism that a akin resurgence successful request for earthy fur whitethorn besides look successful European markets.

Regarding the upcoming 51st Kastoria International Fur Fair, helium emphasized that, successful adjacent practice with Enterprise Greece, an extended hosted buyers programme will beryllium implemented, targeting 4 cardinal markets: Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan and China. Additionally, astir ten days ago, Kastoria’s fur manufacture maintained a strong beingness astatine the Chicago Fur Fair successful the United States.

Furriers successful Western Macedonia are optimistic that the upward request trend from China—and beyond—will proceed successful the forthcoming fur fairs successful Finland, scheduled for June and September. They view 2026 arsenic a year of restart for the sector, notably adjacent successful the lack of the Russian market.