The low tide of the luxury industry in recent years - distant Mongolian herdsmen sigh

November 25, 2023

Summary:

Land desertification and severe cold storms made them miserable. The slump in the luxury market in previous years made things worse and harder to sustain.

Picture source: Nzuri

Cashmere, or our often-transliterated word “cashmere,” has long been known as a soft golden luxury fabric. Apart from its soft warmth, the most important reason is its scarcity.

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In the market, the price of cashmere products is uneven, we can buy a cashmere sweater in a few hundred pieces of UNIQLO, and will see a cashmere item priced at US$2,000 in Brunello Cucinelli. Apart from brand value, the origin, grade, processing and production of cashmere products play a decisive role.

Looking around the world, major cashmere producing countries include China, Mongolia, India, Afghanistan, and Turkey. Among them, Mongolia is the raw material production area of ​​Hermès and some of its brands “up and down” cashmere items.

Mongolia is the second largest producer of cashmere after China, accounting for nearly 30% of the market. According to statistics from the Mongolia Wool and Cashmere Association, Mongolia produced 8,500 tons of raw cashmere in 2016. In the past ten years, the local livestock herdsmen have shifted their focus from cows and horses to goats. Every dehairing season, they will see every family sitting in the yard to collect cashmere. In 1990, Mongolia had 4 million goats, and last year, The figure is 25 million. The importance of the cashmere industry in the local area is evident.

NPR herdsmen combing cashmere from goats/Image source: npr

The problem can be followed, after the sudden increase in the number of goats, forage grass began to supply. These greedy animals even shaved grassroots, resulting in the desertification of grasslands.

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Non-profit organizations including PETA and Green Planet have resisted the cashmere industry in the name of ecological balance, humanitarianism, etc. in recent years. “If the number of Mongolian livestock grows unceasingly, it will inevitably affect the grasslands.” Ulziibodijav Jambal, founder of Bodio, a Mongolian cashmere and garments company, said in an interview with “Ladies’ Daily”, “But it should not be forced to specify what the herdsmen should do. After all, this is their Make a living."

Ulziibodijav Jambal made a calculation. Suppose a herdsman has 1,000 goats and can get 300 kilograms of cashmere every year. The price per kilogram is from 30 to 35 U.S. dollars so far, which means that the annual revenue is about 9,000 U.S. dollars, but If one family of four is averaged, the annual income is only 2250 US dollars per person - in order to earn more money, herders have to think of ways to raise more goats in exchange for more cashmere.

Cashmere

Sor Cashmere, a cashmere company that supplies raw materials for Hermès, upper and lower brands, believes that Mongolia may be able to think of ways to start with quality because the thickness and length of cashmere is the key, and yarns made of fibers with a small diameter are more compliant, such as A-grade. The length of cashmere is between 30-34 and its diameter is between 14-15.5 microns. It is less than one-fifth of human hair. There may be A, B, C several grades of cashmere on each head of the body. However, as of this writing, the Mongolian cashmere industry has not yet established a complete price gradient, and it has experienced great fluctuations.

Take for example the herders in the northern province of Kosugul. They can sometimes use 32 US dollars per kilogram of raw cash, and sometimes only sell 18 US dollars. "The price is very, very low, six years ago, the price was 28-32 US dollars." 54-year-old herdsman Batsuri Sharkhuu told the "Women's Daily", which is closely related to the sluggishness of the luxury goods industry in the first two years. After losing 100 goats in the last winter, he is preparing to relocate and move to a small town where the urban pulsation is likely to revolve around lucrative mining resources.

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