Data on Sericulture and Silk Status of Key Trading Partner Countries

Sericulture in CambodiaGeneral Directorate of AgricultureDepartment of Industrial CropsYin chansothy 28.June 2021ThailandThe 3rdmeeting of National Focal Point Working Group on Sericulture History of silk Sericulture has a long history in Cambodia, going back to the thirteenthcentury when villagers started breeding silkworms along the banks of theMekong and Bassac rivers. For centuries, Cambodia was renowned for its unique Cambodian Golden Silk( CGS ), which is produced from the yellow silkworm. CGS is famous for itsstrength and lustrous fiber. Weaving and wearing silk is an expression ofdeeply rooted cultural and social tradition in Cambodia. Until 1930, many farmers in the provinces of Kampot,Takeo and KampongSpeu, and others, grew mulberry trees and produced silk yarn for theirpersonal consumption and for commerce. After 1930, however, silk yarnproduction progressively decreased and was nearly destroyed during theKhmer Rouge period. Cambodia was producing an estimated 50 tons of silk per year. That numberdropped to just 0.8 tons.. The majority of silk yarn is now imported from abroad and less than 1 % ofthe thread used to weave Cambodian Silk handicrafts today is actually