Tragic yarn: India-China border spat hits global cashmere production

A young Changpa nomad sits near pashmina goats in a nomadic camp, about 1km from Korzok village in the Leh district of Ladakh. The world is heading for a shortage of the highly prized and super-soft cashmere wool as pashmina goats that live on the "roof of the world" become caught up in the fractious border dispute between nuclear neighbours India and China. - AFP

SRINAGAR (AFP): The world is heading for a shortage of the highly prized and super-soft cashmere wool as pashmina goats that live on the "roof of the world" become caught up in the fractious border dispute between nuclear neighbours India and China.

Wool from pashmina goats, reared by nomads in the inhospitable high-altitude cold desert region of Ladakh, is the most expensive and coveted cashmere in the world.