Mohair fibres on display

Press, 12 November 1985, Page 42

Mohair fibres on display

Mohair is a specialised fibre noted for its high lustre, strength and softness. It is used for premium quality textiles and fashionwear. Samples of mohair fleeces will be on display at the Canterbury show as well as live Angora goats, and completed garments and handcrafted items made from mohair and cashmere. A special competition for mohair fleeces has attracted about 30 entries. The Angora goat industry has boomed during the last year and world record prices have been paid for live animals. An example of

the dramatic growth is shown by the fact that in 1981 the Mohair Producers Association’s first pool of mohair for tender contained 4000 kg of fibre. In contrast, the second pool for the 1985 season has attracted about 46,000 kg, which is expected to be worth almost $1 million. The mohair is sold by tender through the association’s marketing division which operates a warehouse at Pukekohe. Four pools will be run next year. The best quality mohair is produced by Angora goats up to 18 months of age. This is fine and soft and realises

the highest price for mohair, according to the association.

Angora goats should be fully covered with dense, soft, lustrous kemp-free mohair of good style and character. Kemp is a coarse straight medulated fibre and is eradicated by careful breeding selection. Crossbred mohair, or cashgora, is valued for its fineness and softness and gives valuable returns during upgrading programmes. It is a speciality fibre used in luxury garments and textiles.

Cashmere grows as a fine, downy undercoat and is normally shed by cashmerebearing goats each spring. It is one of the world’s finest commercial animal fibres — it is soft, warm, light and luxurious — and is

used to make some of the finest, most expensive garments in the world.

The Canterbury branch of the Mohair Producers Association has 219 financial members, about double , the number at last January. Many are traditional farmers who have diversified into goats, some run goats on small holdings,.and a few are investors running goats on a share-farming basis.

Canterbury has few inves-tor-sharefanning arrangements with goats at present compared with areas in the North Island.

Twice a year, after the spring and autumn shearings, the branch arranges baling days at Rangiora where members’ mohair clips are baled for transport to the association’s

Pukekohe warehouse.. Nineteen bales were filled last month and 12 the previous autumn. All lines are kept separate so the fibre’s owners can be identified and paid accordingly. Field days are a regular event for the branch and the next occasion will be on December 1. Held on the property of Mr Murray Faulkner, Kowai Bush, the subject will be “What to look for in selecting Angoras.” There will be displays of Angoras and'fleeces. A social evening will be held on December 10 where members will be able to meet the association’s new executive officer, Mr Paul Plummers.

Fibre-classing schools and courses on the basics of fibre handling have also been run by the branch.