Silk industry roadmap to be finished this month – fiber agency

The Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) will complete this month a roadmap that will set growth targets for the silk industry, the agency said Wednesday. FIDA Administrator Cecile Soriano said the roadmap will have growth targets for the short term (2014 to 2017) and the long term (2018 to 2027). According to the agency, the domestic production of raw silk has fallen to little more than a quarter the output of 10 years ago: in 2003, the Philippines produced 3,292 kilograms of raw silk from 9,066 kilograms of dried cocoon. There were also 245 hectares of mulberry trees used for silkworm raising. In 2012, only 894 kilograms from 4,617 kg of dried cocoon were produced, and 157 hectares of mulberry tree areas. The volume of silk fabric exported last year was 54,810 square meters, down from 75,440 square meters in 2007. FIDA plans to provide farmers with farm input and expand the areas for the planting of mulberry (the worms eat fresh mulberry leaves).   For the longer term, the agency wants to spur investment in the establishment of silk-weaving facilities. Soriano said the agency is coordinating the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of Investments (BOI) for the provision of incentives for textile mills that manufacture silk fabrics. “We are calling for a meeting with the [Board of Investments] and the [Department of Trade and Industry]. We are seeking investors in textile mills because there is a ready market. We want them to know that we have a working plan for the industry,” she said. According to the FIDA website, the non-profit Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) currently produces most of the country's silk at its filature plant in Bago City, Negros Occidental. It produced about 800 kg of raw silk last year. "Quality-wise, we are competitive but it is the volume that we cannot supply and the global market is always open,” said OISCA executive director Thelma Watanabe. Local silk fabric is exported to countries including the US, India, Singapore and France. Imelda Marbella of the FIDA Planning and Statistics Division said local silk stakeholders should also look to large silk consumers like Japan and Italy as potential export destinations. — BM, GMA News