Will alpaca investment go bad like Emus?
No, unlike emus, there are a number of reasons why the alpaca market will not go bust like the emu market did.
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Unlike emus that have 30-60 eggs per year, alpacas have just one baby per year. So you don't have to find 30-60 buyers for the yearly production of each alpaca that you own. Most alpaca breeders own 3-6 alpacas and cannot produce enough alpacas to satisfy clients who want to purchase them. That's because most breeders want to keep some crias to grow their own herd, and statistically only half of each year's new crias will be female.
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Unlike emus, the Alpaca Registry in the USA is closed. That means there will be no more imports to flood the market. If an alpaca is not registered with the Alpaca Registry, its babies also cannot be registered.
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Unlike emus, alpacas have a strong national marketing program in the Alpaca Owner and Breeder (AOBA). AOBA buys national advertising that drives new buyers to existing alpaca farms and ranches. In addition, the Alpaca Fiber Coop of North America (AFCNA) promotes the fiber production from alpacas for sustained revenue income alpaca breeders.
For an alternative view see:
Do Alpacas Represent the Latest
Speculative Bubble in Agriculture
