Heavy snowfall affects pashmina production

Heavy snow has killed nearly 25,000 pashmina goats in

the Himalayas this year, affecting the production of silky cashmere wool used to make high-end scarves. Thousands of nomads rear the goats in the inhospitable terrain of northwestern region of Ladakh. According to officials these goats have starved to death in the Changthang region of Ladakh because their fodder is buried under unusually heavy snow. Another 175,000 goats are at risk of perishing as their fodder is buried under three feet after one of the biggest snowfalls in nearly fifty years.

Some 50 tonnes of raw pashmina wool, known to be some of the best in the world, is produced there each year and sent to neighbouring Kashmir where it is processed and woven into scarves and shawls which sell for up to 800 dollars a piece. In recent years, due to a lack of supplies from Ladakh, weavers in Kashmir have begun importing raw pashmina from China and Mongolia to meet ever-increasing demand for their products.