Premium Alpaca
A pathway to a viable alpaca fl eece industry
Paul Vallely, owner/manager, Australian Alpaca Fibre Testing, elaborates on ‘Premium Alpaca’, a concept he touched on during his presentation at the recent World Alpaca Conference.
T 44 Alpaca Summer 2012
he alpaca community has for many years been bombarded with volumes written about the development of a viable alpaca fl eece industry. While some of these ideas have fl oundered, there is one approach
that has already forged a pathway to a viable alpaca fl eece industry, with successes recorded in the areas of genetic improvement, marketing initiatives and product promotion. The concept is simply referred to as ‘Premium Alpaca’. Premium Alpaca is not an association requiring
payment of fees. Nor is it a system that takes any of the decision-making away from breeders. It is simply a set of breeding and marketing tools that breeders can select from in order to enhance the fl eece aspect of their farming activities. The scheme comprises a network of like-minded breeders who generally share the belief that the viability of alpacas lies in the development of their fi bre. To date, about 150 breeders from most Australian states are involved in the scheme, with administrative support provided from Australian Alpaca Fibre Testing (AAFT). The foundation upon which Premium Alpaca operates is that it latches onto the growing demand for high
quality natural fi bre suitable for the burgeoning luxury garment market. While some pundits spell gloom to the luxury garment
market owing to the global fi nancial crisis, the wise are aware that now is the time to embrace opportunities being offered from ‘reborn’ quality apparel markets.
What is premium alpaca? The obvious question ‘what is Premium Alpaca?’ is not easily answered as the concept must remain sensitive to the ever changing moods of the apparel market. In essence however, it is alpaca fi bre (irrespective of colour or whether it comes from suri or huacaya) that meets the key demand drivers for top shelf textile processing and manufacturing. The creators of Premium Alpaca have repeatedly
evaluated the key drivers for high grade fl eeces. These evaluations have included feedback from noted researchers, fashion houses, manufacturers and processors such as Merino Gold, Creswick Woollen Mills, Michells of Peru, CSIRO, Ermenegildo Zegna, Jo Sharp Knitwear and many others. The feedback is remarkably similar. By far, the main driver is fi bre diameter – with soft
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