Peru is the leading alpaca fiber producer and has the largest population of this camelid in the world, outpacing regional competitors like Bolivia and Chile, the country's Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry informed.
According to Minagri's head Jose Hernandez, the Inca country is home to 87% (3.8 million) of the world's alpaca population.
Remarks were made on Friday as part of the activities marking Peru's
National Alpaca Day —celebrated every August 1.
"The country's annual production stands at 4,501 tons of fiber […]. Therefore, we must protect the camelid, which is highly sought-after and benefits our livestock producers," he said.
According to the Ministry, the alpaca population has grown 50.2% so far this year, being Puno and Cusco the regions with the largest numbers —1,459,903 and 545,454 specimens, respectively.
Next in the list are Arequipa (468,392), Huancavelica (308,586), and Ayacucho (230,910), among other regions.
With that in mind, the Livestock General Directorate will implement strategic activities to make the alpaca fiber value chain more competitive, as well as to improve production, transformation and consumption procedures.
To that end, the Agriculture sector is looking to improve the camelid diet by providing different varieties of natural grass.
(END) CNA/CNA/RMB/MVB
Published: 8/4/2017