2021 Llama Market Report

Can you make money raising llamas? It's a common question, and while we won't dive into all of the factors that decide whether a llama farm is profitable, using prices from this year's auctions we will provide some data that can help everyone take the pulse of the llama market in 2021. 
Prices on everything seemed to go up in 2021, and llamas were no exception. 

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The average for female llamas selling at auction in 2021 was $4,795
The average for male llamas selling at auction in 2021 was $2,379

The average for all llamas in 2021 was $4,097. 
​The median (exact middle) for all llamas in 2021 was $3,450

The average for females under 2 years of age was $5,725
The average for females between 2 and 10 years of age was $4,183
The average for females over 10 years of age was $3,386

The average for males under 2 years of age was $3,119
The average for males between 2 and 10 years of age was $1,861
The average for males over 10 years of age was $1,138

**In calculating our averages we included buybacks, as data on buybacks is not made available by sale coordinators. For the female average: dams selling with female babies at side were counted as two lots, females with male babies at side were counted as one lot.

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Prices were up across the board from 2020 (where the female average was $3,142 and the male average was $1,611).
The high sellers in 2021 also exceeded those of 2020, with the highest selling lot being Venesa and Chris Carter's 3-in-1 package selling at the ILR Summer Spectacular Sale for $17,500 to Pam Hall. The highest selling solo animal was GNLC Dolomite (name later changed to GNLC Challenger), sold by Steve and Sue Rolfing for $13,250 to Rick and Mary Adams. (The high seller in 2020 was MSF Showtime at $14,000)

​The strength of our current market continues to be in our ever-rising floor. 

In 2021 80% of all llamas, and 95% of females, brought more than $2,000. The majority females who sold for less than $2,000 were not registered. In 2020 66% of llamas brought more than $2,000, which at the time I thought was a very strong indicator. The 80% figure for 2021 is simply outstanding. 
 
In 2021 96% of llamas and 100% of females brought more than $1,000, this figure was similar to 2020. 

The ceiling of the llama market has also been very strong. 
39% of females brought more than $5,000 and 11% of females sold for more than $9,000. One out of every 10 female llamas to sell at auction in 2021 was nearing or exceeding five figures. 

Males were not as strong as females. With that being said, an impressive 8% of males brought more than $5,000, and one male sold for more than $9,000 (GNLC Challenger). 

Santana's Camaro and Timone's Pride daughter

GNLC Challenger (previously GNLC Dolomite)

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The last question we'll consider is if there is any commonalities from the animals at the top of the market, which we have defined as selling for more than $9,000. 
The most common animal in this group was a female under two years of age. This group also included multiple moms with female babies at side, a three year old female, a four year old female, and an 8 month old male. Another encouraging sign in 2021 was the variety of farms that consigned high selling animals. 13 different farms had animals sell for more than $9,000 in 2021. The top selling animals came from a variety of bloodlines and styles including everything from lighter wool suris to Argentines. 

Something to keep an eye on in 2022 will be the total number of auction consignments. 173 llamas sold at auction in 2021, which is double the number that sold in 2020. 

​Click here to see our full 2020 Llama Market Report