THE ITALIAN ALPACA
An insight into a European Alpaca Market
Gabriella Bozzini
Having just recently relocated to Italy, I am perhaps the least
qualified person to claim any expert knowledge of the European alpaca market. But it is
also because of my newcomer’s status that I have the opportunity to see the European
market from an outsider’s perspective and offer perhaps some views on the dynamics
controlling it.
Since my arrival in Italy, last September, I have established numerous
contacts with fellow breeders and European associations that have shared their ideas about
the current and future alpaca market throughout the Continent. I have also initiated a
marketing of my own herd and succeeded in selling some animals to new alpaca
enthusiasts.
The established community and, in particular, my new clientele, have provided me with some
valuable insights on this market, which I will share here.
The alpaca market is experiencing a remarkable growth throughout the
Continent. With approximately 5000 alpacas throughout Europe and several associations
already in existence, the European alpaca community is rapidly taking shape. The UK is
perhaps the country with the largest alpaca herd numbering about 2,500 head and with a
dynamic and well organized association. Germany has a population of about 500 alpacas and
an equal number of llamas and their association serves breeders of both species. These two
nations are currently leading the European alpaca community both in numbers of breeders
and organizational power although Switzerland also has a considerable population
considering its size: about 800 alpacas and 500 llamas The remaining European alpaca
population is scattered in countries such as France that has three small associations and
approximately 300 alpacas whereas Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Sweden and Holland have
all a number of breeders, but none sufficiently big enough to justify the current
establishment of organized breeders’ associations.
A recent wave of large imports of Chilean and Peruvian alpacas to
England, Switzerland and Germany seem to have awakened the community to several issues
that are now being debated by all those interested in the future of this business. These
new arrivals are stirring the community to organize more and larger shows, often judged by
US and Australian judges. These imports have also brought forth the issues of screening
and registries. For instance, the German association is now discussing establishing
ARI-based screening and ALSA judging standards whereas England has already begun to
implement its own screening and judging parameters. Others are discussing the possibility
of creating an all-European association that would establish regulations and controls on
the industry throughout the Continent. The debates and possibilities are endless and,
although the best chance for a cohesive, strong alpaca market would seem to lie in the
creation of a centralized regulatory organization, the challenges are the same as those
faced by the European Community as a whole. Language and cultural barriers, as well as
different levels of development in the alpaca sector, make it difficult for all partners
to participate equally in the designing of a unified industry.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for the current community of alpaca
breeders lies not so much in the difficulty of bringing breeders together, as much as in
the existing European agricultural and rural world itself. Although economic issues
underlie the marked differences currently existing between the US and the European market,
I believe the driving force of these differences is mainly cultural.
In the US, a very large proportion of new alpaca buyers are displaced
urban couples that have recently purchased some property with land. One partner retains a
more traditional income-generating occupation while the other develops the alpaca
business. This American approach enables a change in lifestyle where both partners can
find fulfilling activities while enabling the family to live in a rural
environment, all
the while profiting from a diversified income and from tax breaks generated from their new
agricultural venture. Although this is not the case for all U.S. breeders, I believe it
represents fairly accurately a large number of new breeders entering the business every
day in America. These "typical" U.S. buyers are a product of the very mobile
U.S. society that allows, and often encourages, its citizens to move place of residence
and occupation several times in their lives.
In Europe, this mobility is rarely witnessed. Europeans are more likely
to find an occupation that will be the same for the rest of their lives, somewhere in the
vicinity of their hometown. It is in fact not uncommon to find adults who still socialize
within the same circle of friends they had in school, whose families have known each other
through generations and whose children all play together. Within my own community this is
in fact the norm. Agricultural holdings in this area have been owned by families for
generations and rarely are any properties sold. This means that few newcomers enter the
agricultural sector that is populated by a very stable, experienced and rather
conservative group of entrepreneurs.
This demographic trend is not unique to Tuscany or Italy for that
matter. I believe it is a fairly common trend throughout all of Europe: the countryside is
populated by medium to large size farms that are run by families with old roots in the
place. Most young adults have fled the countryside, leaving only the older generations to
run the business. The few that purchase abandoned properties such as myself are often
foreigners wanting vacation homes in this beautiful part of the country.
Because of the overall sluggish economic performance of European
agriculture, the European Community has established a powerful mechanism to ensure that
this sector does not completely vanish. The subsidies available to the farming community,
and which have the US farmers so irate, is what has kept the European countryside from
totally depopulating itself. These subsidies insure that agricultural ventures such as
olive oil production, wine production, all crops or livestock operations receive a minimum
compensation that covers most running costs while ensuring at least a small profit to the
farmers.
I believe that these two factors are perhaps the most important in
determining the future of alpacas in Europe: Both the lack of human mobility and the
system of agricultural subsidies that limit the number of people living in the countryside
that might consider the purchase of alpacas. Few can afford to move out of the cities to
make a living as there are still few tele-commuting jobs available as well as little land
available for sale. Those that do already live in the country are highly dependent on
subsidies to ensure their livelihood and are hesitant to risk taking on a new business for
which there are no guaranties, nor any governmental assistance.
The restrictiveness of the current market does not exclude a future for
alpacas in Italy or Europe. I believe however that it defines the boundaries within which
it is possible to develop a market different from the one that currently exists in the US.
For instance, the opportunity for success in promoting new species as alternative farming
operations has been, to some extent, demonstrated by the Ostrich experience. In Italy
alone, there are over 600 Ostrich farms that have quickly become a new agricultural force.
Ostrich meat is now found in most supermarkets and the animals’ byproducts of
leather, eggs and feathers have found their niche on the Italian market.
Similarly, alpacas have tickled the fancy of already established animal
breeders –often, sheep operations- who are interested in the possibilities offered by
this new species. These people, who see alpacas exclusively as a livestock whose economic
worth lies in its fiber, ask hard facts and statistics about wool quality, quantity and
resale prices. All these facts, as well as processing and industrial mills are often
discussed by potential buyers even before coming to my farm to see the animals and their
wool for themselves. This exclusive focus on the end-product itself has been difficult for
me to adapt to as I was more accustomed to the American approach of selling ‘the
animal’ first and then talking about fiber characteristics as an additional selling
point.
Here, alpacas are seen as farm animals that must prove their economic
worth as fiber producers from the very start. This approach is of course the most
realistic and only way to plan for the long term development of the alpaca industry
anywhere. Alpacas are discussed here perhaps in similar ways as they are in the
Altiplano:
Less attention is given to conformation whereas greater emphasis on fiber fineness and
volume production is discussed. As a result, large herds are being discussed as options
for clearing fire hazards in National Forests and to graze in harsh environments such as
those found in the higher elevations of the Pyrennees mountains.
Large-scale sheep breeders, interested in diversifying their operations
for environmental and production reasons, are looking into alpacas as a realistic
possibility for escaping the conventional and less productive sheep wool business. This
interest has spurred governmental agencies such as the Italian research center ENEA to
work in collaboration with a German team of veterinarians, to organize a two-year research
into alpaca diet, environmental impact and fiber production. This research has been funded
with the express intention of providing recommendations for future large-scale breeding
operations throughout Europe.
The uses for which alpacas are now being discussed in Europe has also
had a tremendous impact on the overall value given to these animals on the
Continent.
Considered as a possible replacement species, or alternative, by already existing breeders
of fleece producing animals, prices have adjusted to these new market realities. Average
prices in Continental Europe for pregnant females range in the 4,000 to 6,000 US dollars
range whereas in the UK they can be sold for nearly twice that amount. These prices seem
exorbitant to sheep operations accustomed to purchasing entire herds of fine fleeced sheep
breeds for the price of a single alpaca. However, they are also aware that the rarity of
the animals and the quality of their fiber provides them with new economic opportunities
never before available to them with their traditional herds.
The present small number of animals in Europe is far from seeing the
establishment of alpaca-dedicated mills, but it is apparent that all new investors and
breeders are purchasing with that objective in mind. If European imports continue at their
current rate, and these plans for large herds becomes a reality, it shouldn’t take
too long to start producing 100% European-made alpaca garments, just as is already
happening in the UK.
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