The South African angora goat and mohair industry

South Africa is the largest supplier of mohair, producing almost half the world output. Despite the importance of the mohair sector, not much is known of its earlier development. This paper describes the progress of the South African mohair industry, starting in 1838, when the first arrival in South Africa of true Angoras occurred. Contents: 1) Foundation years (establishing the breed, 1838-1860 – further development, 1861-1899 – prices and production – problems encountered – organization); 2) Growth of the industry, 1900-1929 (economic progress – exports and imports – organization and marketing); 3) Depression era, 1930-1949 (reasons for the crisis – consequence of the depression – attempts to stabilize the industry – organization of the industry – exports and imports); 4) Modern developments, 1950-1971 (organization of the industry – economic performance – stabilization measures). Conclusion: mohair became a long-term farming proposition in only a few districts of the Cape Midlands. Disunity amongst producers and inability to agree on fundamental issues caused the industry much harm. Bibliogr.