Victoria-based La Viande Australian Alpaca, Macarthur, south of Hamilton, Vic, is serving up its meat range to restaurants, and gourmet food outlets across the country.

Speaking at the World Alpaca Conference in Sydney last week, La Viande director, Stephen Ridout, said the meat market was the obvious next step for the growing alpaca industry.

“The physical numbers of alpaca in Australia are such that we are getting to a stage where we need to develop the meat aspect of the business so the fleece industry, and the stud industry can survive, grow and prosper long-term,” Mr Ridout told conference guests.

The inaugural world conference drew about 400 delegates and breeders from around the world and will move to the US next year.

Mr Ridout said there were about 40 or 50 growers supplying the naturally lean alpaca meat, mainly from farms along Australia’s east coast.

But he was sure this would grow as producers began culling stock with inferior fleece production traits.

“The next step for the industry will be breeding animals for meat production,” he said.

“If we can’t supply it, the demand we see now will fall off and we don’t want that.”

For this reason, La Viande’s range of alpaca meat cuts was only being marketed to restaurants and gourmet food outlets at the moment - big supermarkets both domestically and overseas were being avoided because the volume could not be assured.

Alpaca meat - a slightly salty, tender, high protein product - was proving a hit with chefs.

Television cook, Ian Hewitson, wants some of the lean, high protein meat for his show - while restaurants in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Victoria are now serving it up.

Mr Ridout said the meat had a high moisture content, probably because alpacas were of the camelid family.

A 100-gram cut of back strap contains 72 per cent moisture.