Boosting yarn production can revitalise Bangladesh silk sector

Boosting yarn production in Bangladesh could help revitalise the silk sector, apart from meeting domestic demand, said panellists at a discussion in Rajshahi recently. 

Textile and jute secretary Mijanur Rahman said support and inputs like disinfected eggs, high-yielding mulberry plants, marketing facilities and soft loans should be provided to silk farmers.

Rahman said that sericulture, a labour-intensive agro-based industry, was ideally suited to the socioeconomic condition of the country and the sector covered both agriculture and industry, according to Bangladeshi media reports.

Several silk-related projects had already been started and a project to identify land for silk farming has been initiated, he said.

He said two state-owned silk factories could be restarted in phases that would create jobs for about 10,000.