Mohair auction prices continue to soar on European fashion demand

Deon Saayman, Mohair SA GM says, "The mohair produced during the first half of this year has been of exceptional quality, mainly due to the better grazing conditions for the top quality mohair on offer and buyers competing heavily against each other in the market for the mohair on offer.

The attention that the knitwear and hand-knitting trends are currently experiencing is another reason for the upsurge, as young goat and fine adult mohair is widely used for this. Over the last six months, mohair could practically be found on every catwalk, as the fibre is being used more widely in the global fashion industry.

The velour industry in Europe is also responsible for the big uptake of the young goat mohair. In these regions the velour is used to create outstanding quality upholstery with the biggest end consumer markets for velour being the US and Europe. Japan, Taiwan and Korea are also important consumer markets for the knitwear sector.

"People tend to want to produce a better quality product if there's a credible body backing an industry. We believe that Mohair South Africa's support in promoting the fibre has led to the mohair spinners creating a better product as well," he concludes.

For more information, go to www.mohair.co.za.