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Let's talk about the stability
of alpaca market values.
You see, because the most important
source of revenue in the alpaca industry
is the actual sale of livestock (particularly
breeding females), and also because the
2nd most important revenue source
(stud fees) are dependent upon the
market price of alpaca livestock …
the primary risk you take when you
enter the alpaca industry is
'market risk'.
(Of course there ARE other risks
besides market risk, … but the availability
of very affordable alpaca livestock
insurance eliminates many of these
concerns)
Put simply … I see it like this*.
(*My personal opinion).
If you're willing to embrace the
alpaca lifestyle and work at it for
five to ten years, most people should
be able to grow their herds to a size
which would be worth five hundred thousand
dollars (and often more). That's because
at today's market prices, 35 – 40
registered alpacas are worth that much.
So, as far as I can tell, the only
truly significant risk we take when
when we decide to get into alpacas, is
whether 35 to 40 alpacas will still be
worth a half million dollars when we're
ready to get out.
The good news is that the average
alpaca costs between $15,000 - $20,000
now – the same price it cost during the
introduction of the species in the U.S.
20 years ago. Although this market value
is subject to fluctuation like any other
market, the value has stayed the same
because demand has been keeping pace
nicely with supply. (The US herd is
still pretty small).
One of the reasons the Alpaca herd
stays small because the registry of
imports is formally closed (here in the
USA, we're not allowed to bring in any
more in from outside the country) and
because females can only have one “cria”
(the term for an alpaca baby) each year
(the gestation period is 11.5 months!).
Breeders in the business for a decade
or more will usually say they've seen
the low-end prices for alpacas drop and
the prices for the top animals increase.
This is also an indication of the stability
of the value in the market overall. (And
a good reason to embrace the lifestyle fully
if you're going to do this, so that you really
can learn how to develop high end animals)
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