000625 Demand For Goat Is Increasing

San Francisco, CA -Ruby Alahakoon shops well in advance for the goat meat she needs to feed her family and fill orders for her catering business.

“Goat is not always available at the Chinese or Mexican markets where I shop,” said the native of Sri Lanka, now a San Jose resident.

Most goat meat sold in the United States is brought in live from Texas or imported frozen from New Zealand -- and usually available only at specialty markets.

But with less fat than chicken and as a staple in the diet of the Bay Area's increasing concentration of ethnic minority groups -- goat is gaining ground.

“It's the hottest market in agriculture right now,” said Johanna Dodds, who breeds the South African Boers on her ranch near Watsonville and raises them commercially near Redding.

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