UK alpaca wool 'a match for Merino'

Speaking after his first day of a four-day judging stint at the National Alpaca Fleece Competition held at Plane Castle, Airth, where he will judge nearly 300 fleeces from all over the country, Mr Holt said: "What I have seen has been very impressive. I have been very pleasantly surprised. There has been a lot of progress in the UK since I was last here two years ago."

He said some of the top fleeces - which are worth between 80 and 120 for a 2kg fleece as being as good as a very good Merino sheep fleece in his native Australia. In technical terms, the top Alpaca fibres can be as thin as 15 microns, a fineness suitable for making high fashion suits.

Alpaca wool is a luxury fibre characterised by its lightness, softness to the touch and its thermal properties. Alpaca fibre can be used for garments ranging from everyday knitwear through to high fashion haute couture worsted suits.

While some specially bred Merinos that are kept indoors all the time can produce fleeces as low as 11 microns, the quality of the fleece of the normal outdoor ewe is higher.

Mr Holt has 45 years' experience in the wool and speciality fibre Industry. He was a senior wool technical officer with a leading wool broking company in Australia for 20 years.

He has travelled to the UK, Canada, New Zealand and the US, where he has delivered training programmes in fibre production. He has been instrumental in the development of training programmes for the Australian Alpaca Industry. He is currently an Australian Alpaca Association judge and senior fleece judge and trainer for the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association in the US.

Interest in farming alpacas, which are native to South America, has grown steadily in recent years. Two decades ago the only alpacas in the UK would have been found in zoos. Today there are more than 25,000 alpacas in herds spread across the UK.