A bright future for Angora farmers

Angora goats.

Mohair is the fine, lustrous fibre harvested from Angora goats.

It's worth significantly more than sheep wool - recent mohair prices are in the $15 - $35 per kilo range (the higher prices being paid for the finer 'kid' or young goat fibres).

In contrast, wool prices are ranging from $5 to $15 per kilo for coarse and fine wools respectively, yet the number of Angora goats in both New Zealand and throughout the world has fallen over recent years.

This situation could be about to change however, after one of the world's leading goat advocates GT Ferreira was special guest at the Federated Farmers Goats/Mohair New Zealand conference held recently in Pukekohe, Auckland.

Mr Ferreira is originally from South Africa, but now a resident in Australia, was on hand for two days doing presentations demonstrating his leading expertise on Angora goat farming and the attributes of highest quality mohair.

In particular, Mr Ferreira advocates that the mohair industry (and Angora goat farmers who supply it) should move away from the traditional quality attributes of weight and fibre thickness that are currently used to value fleeces.

Instead, by moving to an overall assessment of fleece quality in terms of a number of attributes - including length, strength, and a low medullation count - they can produce mohair of much higher quality and market value.

Most importantly, the highest quality fibre will then have the necessary attributes for use in weaving rather than the traditional spinning industry.

This will see mohair used as an integral component in the production of top-of-the-line suiting and other garments with a commensurate move up the value chain for the farmers who are able to supply top-grade mohair.

Mr Ferreira has demonstrated that this is not only possible but is achievable at the commercial scale necessary to be successful, with the finest fleeces potentially returning upwards of $50 per kilo of mohair to producers.

To achieve this will require a lot of work on the part of Angora goat farmers, including a change of focus in their breeding programmes, but, for those that are successful, the future appears bright.