As part of the National Day of the Alpaca (celebrated today in Peru), the Ministry of Agriculture reported that Peru remains in first place as alpaca producer, hosting 87% of the world population, that is, 3.7 million of these camelids.
“So far this year, 30 tons of alpaca fiber were exported to Italy valued at more than $500,000 US dollars. It is expected to reach 50 tons of exports by the end of 2018”, wrote La República.
The alpaca is a species of South American camelid, similar to, and often confused with the llama. However, they are often noticeably smaller than llamas.
They are native to Peru, where the largest population in the world of these animals exist. As a result of the Spanish invasion in 1532, 98% of the alpacas in Peru died. This is why they moved to higher areas into the mountains, where they have remained until now, permanently, according to information from Wikipedia.
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