There was a lot of buzz around the Afghan Made cashmere booth. Afghanistan is currently the third largest producer of cashmere in the world after China and Mongolia but due to lack of training and equipment, only 30 % of the country’s cashmere is currently harvested.

The potential for the cashmere industry in Afghanistan is significant. It has the makings to achieve 15% of the world’s cashmere production, according to Benjamin Koendr, Project Manager for the task force for business and stability operations, an organisation part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which objective is to gradually re-establish commercial and economic activities in the country.

Philip Eddleston, Cashmere Specialist and Advisor of AfghanMade, the label developed for and by the US task force project, predicted that Afghan Cashmere will come as an identified product by the end of 2014. Production from Afghanistan is hoped to alleviate the worrying global shortage of raw material, attributed to the reduction of grazing land and of animals raised for their fibres.

Meanwhile, despite the much talked about decrease of competitivity of China, the country is expected to remain the world’s main cashmere manufacturer for the years to come. According to EastMAx Fashion’s Managing Director, Alessandra Cocchi, while basic styles can be handled by developing countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia or Vietnam, top quality and luxury items remain largely the expertise of China.

Outsourcing as well as quality, marketing, supply chain and sustainability issues; the advent of new technologies and fashion trends were among the hot topics debated at the Cashmere World Forum that was held over two days which attracted cashmere industry’s experts and aficionados from all over the world.

The 2014 edition of Cashmere World will again take place in Hong Kong next fall from 25 – 27 September.

Asia Pacific Leather Fair Ltd