Cashmere goats roam in northwestern China, including semi-desert regions like Mongolia, Iran, and Afghanistan, characterized by large temperature differences and long hours of sunshine.
Due to the harsh environment, the cashmere goat population is extremely limited. A single cashmere goat produces only 50-80 grams of dehaired cashmere (net cashmere after removing impurities) annually; a typical cashmere sweater requires the cashmere from five goats. Global annual cashmere production is extremely limited, at only around 10,000 tons.
Because of its high quality and scarcity, it is very expensive. In trading, it is priced by the gram. Europeans and Americans call it "fiber diamonds," while the Japanese refer to it as "soft gold." The average market price for raw cashmere is approximately 750,000-800,000 yuan per ton. Yarn is approximately 850-1050 yuan per kilogram, which is 0.85-1.05 yuan per gram. (These prices are reference prices for coarse cashmere yarn in November 2006; prices have since increased.)
