Today, international supply sits just under three million kilograms a year.
“The shortage means huge opportunities; the market is way under supplied,” Woodward said.
“The high demand for the fibre is creating an opening for anyone wishing to enter the industry.”
NZ prides itself on its safe and reliable reputation for the export of natural fibres, as well as a comprehensive understanding of an evolving consumer mindset that places a high value on products that enhance family safety and health. This has led to the development and innovative uses for fibre markets.
At a Future of Fibre B.linc workshop at Lincoln University, the potential of mohair fibre was brought to the fore.
Woodward says the wider fibre ecosystem in NZ has traditionally been dominated by strong wool, but now NZ has moved towards alternative raw materials and innovative use to develop a thriving ecosystem.
So, what is next for the traditional wool market, what alternatives to wool are being leveraged and what role does mohair play in the development of the wider ecosystem?
“When I first started farming angora goats in 1978, nobody was marketing the fibre – we were getting $3 a kg, so we started (marketing); the buyers tell you what they want so we followed that,” he said.
The average 30-micron range market price in April was $36-$43/kg.
“The point is it’s very profitable; you know what the market wants and you supply to that,” he said.
The major producer in the global production of mohair is South Africa at 47%, followed by the US at 5%, with both NZ and Australia at 1%.
“There’s not a lot of mohair product in this neck of the world and in NZ, 30% of production goes to blankets and hand-knitting yarns that since covid, has seen demand double,” he said.
“The chain is clogged, the spinners can’t keep up and we can’t get enough of it.
“There is no problem selling anything we produce and it’s more profitable than sheep.”
Angora farmer David Brown from Northland says realising the potential in mohair fibre comes down to feeding them well.
“Feed is the key to profit, and we are sitting in the perfect situation,” Brown said.
“Current market demand is very high with declining global production; it’s the perfect storm to increase our mohair production beyond our dreams.”
It does not necessarily mean more angora goats, but more high-end fibre from a specific animal.
Angora goats have changed over the past 20 years, particularly in the past 10 years, with a transition to higher-end fibre producers.
The goats today can produce in excess of 10% of body weight.
“A buck weighing 80kg will produce 8kg and more, there’s no other animal that can do the same,” he said.
But Brown says they must be fed accordingly.
“You can’t starve the profit out of a goat – if you don’t put good food in you won’t get money out,” he said.
“You have got to feed good food as they are genetically developed to produce, so be prepared – deprived nutrition means poor-sized goats and that equals low production.”
It is important to understand the factors determining mohair quality and quantity.
Goats do not reach optimum body size until they are four or five years old.
“That’s the fundamental difference between a goat and a sheep; the staple length is higher as younger animals, then it slowly declines, so make the money from the young animal growing fine long hair,” he said.
It’s best to start mating them later, so they are not lactating while in the prime of fibre growth.
“We keep trying to farm goats on sheep-type reasoning and it’s failing for us, simply because we are breeding from goats too young,” he said.
“Grow the mohair, then put the buck out – and there’s lots of technology available to us today to help us get there.
“And if you are going to farm goats on any scale, have a large number of cattle farmed in conjunction.”
