Vietnam wants to develop its silk manufacturing as there is great interest for its products from silk experts, material suppliers, designers and customers. Vietnam’s silk products have great growth potential.
However, the need of the hour is to apply new technology to make silk products. Other Asian countries succeed with their silk products because they can uphold traditional brands and develop products with new techniques.
Silk products account for 0.5 per cent of the world’s commercial market share which is worth 1.15 trillion dollars. The figure promises great opportunities for Vietnamese silk manufacturers. However, it is not an easy task to develop Vietnam’s silk products.
Vietnamese companies put out hundreds of tons of silk every year, which is mostly exported to Japan. However, the quality cannot meet international standards because Vietnamese farmers breed degenerate silkworms. The problem is that silk producers in Vietnam cannot connect agriculture institutes and order high-quality silkworms.
There is a lack of cooperation among businesses, associations and research institutes in the country. Vietnam uses good weaving and dyeing techniques but they are getting obsolete and badly need up gradation. Now, Japanese manufacturers and experts are stepping in to improve the quality of silkworms. Vietnamese and Japanese universities are collaborating on research work.