Prince Albertmohair countrytel: +27 (0)23 5411 366 fax: +27 (0)23 5411 788 e-mail: princealberttourism@intekom.co.za a fascinating history did you know? buy mohair products Prince Albert is proud home to the oldest Angora stud in South Africa. Our producers have consistently produced most of the world’s highest quality clip, obtaining the highest prices for their mohair for the last 30 years. Local producers have brought the following prizes home to Prince Albert:
The rapidly expanding mohair industry provides much local employment - shearers and classers from Prince Albert are sought after throughout the Karoo. Local Angora goat farmers have hosted visitors from all over the world and are involved in development and offer training and shearing courses to interested parties. Did you know:
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In 1837 a South African delegation managed to persuade the Turkish authorities to allow them to import two Angora rams and a ewe to establish the mohair industry here. When the goats arrived it was discovered that the rams had been castrated in an attempt to prevent the development of a rival market - but the ewe was pregnant with a male kid, a precarious start to business. Over an extended period more goats were imported. Angora goats thrived in the arid Karoo and Eastern Cape areas and by the turn of the century mohair production was high - three times its current level. World demand for mohair has always depended on fashion - changing supply and demand created huge fluctuations in prices, seriously affecting producers. Extremely rigorous quality control; high standards in the production and later in the processing and manufacturing spheres; creative marketing strategies and a swing towards natural fibres have brought Cape Mohair back to prominence in the world markets. Today South Africa is the only reliable supplier of quality mohair and is responsible for 60% of the world’s total production.
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