Marketing goat fibres

Goat fibres that are produced, marketed and processed in commercial volumes are mohair and cashmere. These fibres constitute approximately 0.3% of all textile fibres. Mohair is produced in South Africa, Turkey, United States of America, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Lesotho. Production is dictated by price that is dependant on very fickle fashion trends. Over the past 15 years production declined from approximately 26-6.6 million. Marketing varies from rostered auction sales in some countries to sealed bid auctions and direct negotiations in other countries. The future of this industry will depend on the income derived from Angora goat farming relative to other alternatives. Cashmere is produced mainly in China, Mongolia and the Middle East. Production is in the order of 4 million kg dehaired fibre. Marketing has changed significantly since the liberation of economies in the producing countries, but is still to a large extent through trader middlemen. Over this period, China has also evolved from a raw material supplier to a cloth and apparel producer. These changes lead to an decreased flow of cashmere to European processors.