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Cashmere is one of the world's most rare and valuable fibres, prized by the textile and knitwear industries for its softness and handle. The raw product is the fine downy undercoat of goats, grown during the winter months under the coarse, outer, weather-resistant guard hair. During the longer, warmer days of spring, the down is shed from the coat and is harvested by combing or shearing. The United Kingdom - and particularly Scotland, famed for its skills in producing high quality knitwear - is the world's largest processor of cashmere fibre and has traditionally imported cashmere from China, Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan. Now, however, cashmere is being grown by Scottish cashmere goats. Farmed predominantly in Scotland, these goats produce high quality cashmere, which is processed into a unique range of products - both grown and manufactured in Scotland.