The fur market is looking good for 2019!

According to an article on the Grandview Outdoors website, “North America Fur Auctions ranks as the largest fur auction business in North America. It is respected across the globe when it comes to supplying furs to worldwide markets. NAFA has a history dating back to the original settlements in North America and roots to the Hudson Bay Company in 1670. That’s a reputation most businesses would love to be able to tout.”

If coyote fur is your thing, then you’re in luck, as the return is pretty good this year.  The only other “high-quantity fur species to sell at 98 percent of its offerings were muskrat”. In addition, bears and wolverines sold at 100% of their offerings, but there were way fewer pelts available compared to numbers for coyotes and muskrats..

Nearly 200,000 muskrat were on the latest auction sale averaging $3.59. It would take a lot of traps to make a living, but the supplemental income for wetland trapping definitely is something to keep in mind. China was the prime buyer for muskrat in 2019. Beavers averaged $11 with a top lot averaging $100. More than 33,000 beavers were in the most recent auction with a 72 percent sale.

If raccoons are your thing they averaged from $10 to a high of $17 depending on the section location. Seventy-five percent sold of the 254,218 offered at auction. A top lot went to a China buyer for a $92 average making for a good haul on masked bandits.

The fur market has always been up and down like a roller coaster, but the latest numbers, especially for coyotes, will not only keep you smiling, but give you some green return as well.

Read the full article from Grandview Outdoors here.