The Department of Huancavelica is Peru’s third largest producer of fiber, with close to 300,000 alpacas and more than 2,000 breeders. The latter nonetheless used to be the weakest and least benefited link in the productive chain. Its weak connection to the market prevented its integration with Arequipa’s large textile companies.

Before ESC-Huancavelica’s intervention, alpaca breeders used to sell their fiber in lot at an average price of S./ 3.4. ESC-Huancavelica, under the auspices of Compañía de Minas Buenaventura, designed a strategy to strengthen the “weak link” and add value to the fiber. First, ESC-Huancavelica convinced Arequipa’s Fibra Andina about the advantage of paying differential prices according to fiber category, and so 24 price levels were established. On the suppliers’ side, the PRA provided technical assistance to train experts in fiber categorization. A key challenge was to coordinate shearing, logistics, transportation, and sales to meet demand.

The result, according to the assessment and testimony of the main participants, has been “a resounding success”. ESC-Huancavelica calculated the following results: 39,075.20 pounds (38,612 kg) were sold at an average price of S./ 4.39 per pound, with a total revenue of S./ 171,540.