A total of 1,750 tons of raw silk cocoons were produced in Iran in spring and autumn, which marks a 14-year record high, according to the head of Iran Sericulture Expansion Center, affiliated with the Agriculture Ministry.
“The output will meet 53% of the domestic carpet and textile industry’s demand for silk, which share stood at 48% last year [March 202-21], and 42% in the year before,” Adel Sarvi Zargar was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Local production met only 28% of the domestic demand in 2018-19.
Zargar noted that average yield from each box of silkworm eggs is currently around 37 kilograms while top farmers produce 55 kg to 60 kg per box.
“This is the fourth consecutive year after a 23-year gap that silkworms are being produced in autumn. This year’s autumn cocoon production takes place in Gilan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan and Zanjan provinces,” he added.
The official said domestic demand for silk cocoons stands at 540 to 550 tons per year.
“To become self-sufficient, we need to increase annual production to around 3,500 tons,” he added, stressing that about 25,000 households earned a living by sericulture two years ago but due to reasonable prices of silk cocoons, more people are showing interest and the figure has increased to 29,000 households last year.
Gilan Province in northern Iran is the main producer of raw cocoon, accounting for 32% of the country’s total sericulture output. Khorasan Razavi, Golestan, North Khorasan and Mazandaran follow Gilan in a descending order.
According to Zargar, Iran is the world’s eighth biggest country in sericulture.
China, India, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Brazil, Vietnam and North Korea are the world's biggest silk producers.
The lion’s share of silk produced from domestic cocoons is used in weaving expensive hand-woven carpets.
