Alpacas Afield Online

Alpaca fiber, sometimes mistakenly referred to as alpaca wool, is sorted into 22 distinct colors, ranging from blacks through browns and whites, and including subtle shades of maroon, peach and grays. Alpaca fiber can be blended into an infinite array of natural colors, including combinations that do not occur naturally. Alpaca fiber takes and retains dyes very well.

Alpaca fiber has little guard hair and no lanolin. It is unusually strong and resilient. Fabrics made of alpaca fiber are easy to care for and long-lived. These and other qualities make alpaca fiber a sought out commodity in commercial textile houses.

Alpaca fiber offers the following benefits and qualities:

• Alpaca fiber is extremely fine with little guard hair
• Alpaca fiber is compatible with either the woolen or worsted systems
• Alpaca fiber has excellent insulative or thermal qualities
• Alpaca fiber has a rich silky sheen which has high visual appeal in the apparel industry
• Alpaca fiber is warmer than Merino wool
• Alpaca fiber is more abrasion resistant than Merino wool
• Alpaca fiber has a higher tensile strength than wool
• Alpaca fiber contains no grease, oil or lanolin and does not smell
• Alpaca fiber does not retain water and can resist solar radiation
• Alpaca Fiber is rare – supply cannot keep up with demand for fine quality fleece
• Alpaca Fiber can be carded and blended with other natural and/or synthetic fibers
• Alpaca fiber can be easily dyed any color without losing its sheen

Archaeologists have discovered a great deal of alpaca fiber goods from graves and religious sites predating the Inca Empire in South America, a true testament to the durability of alpaca fiber and its long history.

Luxurious, versatile, natural and hypoallergenic, alpaca fiber offers many advantages. With the emergence of the eco-conscious consumer expect the demand for alpaca fiber to only increase.

Alpaca fiber is a rare commodity on the global markets. In large part due to this rarity it has maintained a relatively high value over the years.

Alpaca is one of the rarest of the natural textile fibers, as seen in this table:

South America, primarily Peru, remains the dominant producer of alpaca. However, the size of herds in both North America (United States and Canada) and Australia (including New Zealand) have been growing, and these two regions can be expected to become significant producers of alpaca over the next 10-15 years.

Herd statistics suggest that both the US and Australian herds are growing from 15-18% per year. Both countries have herds that currently hold a bit over 100,000 head (2007), and are producing an estimated 500,000 pounds of fiber annually - roughly 500 tons between the two countries.

Relatively little of the fiber produced by the US and Australia is currently finding its way into commercial production, but this will undoubtedly change. By 2020 it is likely that the United States will be producing 2,500 tons of alpaca fiber a year. Assuming that South America production remains constant (which has been the case over the past 100 years), this will mean that the United States will be producing from 20-30% of the world's supply of alpaca.

It should be noted that there is evidence that China is showing interest in alpaca. Not only is China the largest purchaser of alpaca fiber, there are reports that they have begun importing animals in order to establish a vertically integrated industry.

Alpaca fiber can be valued in many ways, depending on the market the producer is selling to. Actual prices obtained by the producer are influenced by all the factors influencing any other farm product, including market niche, geographic location and supply and demand.

In the United States the alpaca industry is still a breeder's market due to the relatively small size of the national herd. This has led to the promulgation of certain claims about the value of alpaca fiber that may not accurately reflect the value of the fiber.

For instance, it is quite easy to find claims of raw alpaca fiber selling for $3 - 5 an ounce. While it is undoubtedly true that some fiber producers are obtaining prices such as these by selling to fiber artisans, it would be foolish to conclude that alpaca fiber obtains such high prices across the board.

Relatively speaking, alpaca is a very valuable fiber, but the emphasis must be on the word "relative". It is our opinion that one must look to commercial markets in order to establish the base value of this fiber.

The value of any natural fiber depends largely on its grade - usually established by its micron. In the global commodity markets baby grade (less than 22 micron) alpaca tops (that is fiber that has been processed to the point that it is ready for spinning into yarn) has ranged from about $17 - $25 a kilogram over the past 10 years - roughly $8 - $12 a pound.

Recent prices (2007) for equivalent grade of wool are around $2.25 a pound.

Prices for similar grade mohair is around $2.50 a pound.

Clearly, alpaca is a valuable natural fiber, even in the commodity market.

Producers will obtain the best prices when they "value add" the fiber.

For the small producer this can be done several ways:

• Small scale, on farm processing, including skirting, grading, washing and carding the fiber into batts usable by fiber artisans.
• Custom processing, using any of a number of "mini-mills" that are available. Fiber can be turned into batts, rovings, felted sheets or finished yarns for sale into the local market.
• Participation in a fiber pool or a fiber cooperative in order to take advantage of economies of scale unavailable to the individual producer

Producers engaged in value adding their fiber and selling into the local market via farm based stores, local farmer's markets, or local shops can realistically expect to obtain prices as high as $50-$60 a pound with gross margins of 50% or more.