A total of 1,678 tons of raw silk cocoons have been produced in Iran in the current fiscal year (March 2020-21) to register a 21% increase compared with the year before.
“This amount meets 48% of the domestic carpet and textile demand for silk. The share stood at 42% last year [March 2019-20], up from 28% the year before [March 2018-19],” Deputy Agriculture Minister Morteza Rezaei was quoted as saying by Mizan Online.
The official noted that 46,502 boxes of silkworm eggs were distributed among local silk farmers across Iran’s 31 provinces, showing a 17% rise YOY.
Rezaei said this year’s silk cocoon production and distribution of silkworm egg boxes broke a 12-year record.
Adil Sarvi Zargar, the head of Iran Sericulture Expansion Center affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry, told IRNA that the distribution started on March 24 in warmer provinces.
Each box weighs around 13 grams and contains about 24,000 eggs, each of which will evolve into a silkworm, if the rearing processes are carried out properly.
“About 25,000 Iranian households were active in sericulture last year but due to the reasonable prices of raw silk cocoons, more people in the country are showing interest in the business and the figure has increased to 29,000 households during the current fiscal year,” he said.
According to the official, a total of 39,800 boxes of silkworm eggs were distributed among local silk farmers last year, from which 1,385 tons of raw silk cocoons were produced, marking a 10-year record high.
“Guaranteed purchase prices for raw silk cocoon have increased by 56% this year [started March 20] to reach 335,000 rials [$1.2] per kilogram,” Sarvi was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Gilan Province is Iran’s main hub for cocoon production and accounts for 32% of the country's sericulture output. Khorasan Razavi, Golestan, North Khorasan and Mazandaran follow Gilan in a descending order.
Sarvi noted that at present, Iran is the world’s eighth biggest country in the field of sericulture.
The world's biggest silk producers are China, India, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Brazil, Vietnam and North Korea.
