Cashmere goats, raised for their wool at a farm in Ordos, in Inner Mongolia, northwest China, where across the country demand for the soft wool is growing even as overseas demand falls. The finest cashmere in the world is said to come from goats from the region of Ordos, also prized for their meat and skin. Derived from an archaic spelling of Kashmir, Cashmere is a fine wool which grows beneath the outer coarse hair of the Cashmere goat, which roam across the plateaus of northwest Asia, across China from Mongolia to Tibet, and onto India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and considered one of the world's finest and most expensive natural fiber, and for centuries spun to make items from shawls to sweaters. AFP PHOTO