Natural bristles market situation in March 2023.
From our offices in China, they point out that the market for natural, uncooked pig bristles of good quality, i.e. with larger diameter, strong and uniformly coloured hairs, is in great demand and booming.
This situation certainly does not lead to lower prices; on the contrary, on some sizes, prices have even risen.
Of course, it is possible to find raw natural bristles on the market at lower prices, these are bristles that have heavier hairs, differently coloured bristles, thin and weak hairs. It is important to remember that raw natural bristles, before being marketed and especially exported, must undergo a processing and cooking process that can weaken them. This is necessary in order to comply with current health regulations.
A weak natural bristle, which undergoes a process as described, suffers in its final quality, and in our experience, this type of natural bristle may be fine for use in the preparation of blends with synthetic filaments, but certainly not for use in the production of pure natural bristle brushes, especially for plafoni brushes.
Natural bristle brushes are currently still in great demand among professional painters.