SMOOTH AS SILK

The new strategy for developing the agrarian sector of Azerbaijan provides for additional funding of a number of traditional industries with high export potential. Along with the intensive development of cotton-growing, viticulture, and tobacco production, it is planned to take a number of measures to revive the raw-material and technical base of sericulture and to increase the production of the final product - silk fabrics.

The history of sericulture in Azerbaijan dates back to one and a half thousand years ago. Occupying a strategic location along the Silk Road, through which the silk fabrics produced in China were exported to Europe, Azerbaijan was among the first countries of the East, which had mastered the secrets of the production of silk fibers and fabrics. The greatest intensity of this industry was recorded in Shirvan region, as well as in the cities of Sheki, Ganja, and Shusha.

The industrial revolution of the twentieth century, in particular the construction of the largest plant in Sheki back in 1931, had raised the scope of sericulture to industrial levels, increasing the production volumes. The peak of development was during the 60s-70s of the last century. At that time, there were two operating plants - "Sheki-Ipek" and the Ordubad plant in Nakhchivan, specialised in unraveling cocoons. There were 7 specialized companies in Azerbaijan producing silkworm grains, two selective-breeding stations, as well as about 80 units for the collection and primary processing of cocoons. Thousands of hectares of new mulberry orchards were gardened to expand the raw-material base in 15 regions of the country. The growth of silk production required more raw materials, and mulberry trees were planted not only in Shirvan region, Ganja and Sheki, but also in Zagatala, Balakan, Aghdash, Gakh and Gabala regions.

At peak periods, the volume of production of raw cocoons in Azerbaijan exceeded 20 thousand tons per year, and the silk thread was supplied to 80 weaving factories of the Union. It is worth mentioning that despite ranking the second after Uzbekistan in terms of production volumes, Azerbaijan was the leader in quality silk fibers and fabrics exported to Japan, Switzerland, Italy and many other nations of the world.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of central funding and technical support, the domestic sericulture was not able to compete with cheaper products from Asian manufacturers and very quickly lost traditional markets in the former Soviet Union. The land reforms and the collapse of collective farming at the end of the 1990s has accelerated the decline of many businesses and important infrastructure elements of the sericulture industry. Small farmers were not able to independently provide full technological cycle for the production of cocoons. Also, huge areas reserved under the mulberry orchards were lost at that period for various reasons, which has significantly reduced the resource base. As a result, the diminishing production volumes reached 57 tons of raw cocoons in 2000 and maximum of 10 tons in 2014.

The implementation of the State Program on socio-economic development of regions in 2004-2008 was marked with a series of measures to revive the domestic sericulture industry and the implementation of a special state program aimed at developing the industry. In 2005, "Sheki-Ipek" was privatized as a joint-stock company and technologically upgraded. In the next five years, there were attempts to expand the forage resources but the cultivation of plants imported from Uzbekistan and China and planted in various areas of the country was unsuccessful.

Shortage of raw materials (mulberry leaves), difficulties with organizing full production cycle forced owners of the Sheki companies to search for more simplified production schemes. Thus, in 2007-2009, the factory purchased the dry cocoon from Uzbekistan and Iran, thus ensuring a continuous cycle of fiber production. But the global economic crisis started seven years ago has provoked a slowdown in demand for silk fabrics, whereby the oversupply of dry cocoon in the world markets has decreased, depriving manufacturers of the Sheki factory to import raw materials. Due to the shortage of raw materials, the reeling machines of the Sheki factory have been periodically stopped during the last period.

However, the global market trend for silk products is increasing: the global silk production has increased from 153 million to more than 202 thousand metric tons in 2012-2015. Today, China is the largest producer of raw silk and fabrics, which accounts for almost 70% of the market supply. Followed by India (15%), Uzbekistan (3%), and Brazil (2.5%), the remaining volumes are produced by businesses in Thailand, North and South Korea, Japan, Iran, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, as well as about 40 countries of the world.

The realities of post-oil economy of Azerbaijan call for the revival of a full-cycle sericulture industry. This will be followed by the export of competitive products such as silk, fabrics, pret-a-porter garments to international markets.

"Unfortunately, the sericulture industry hugely developed in the past has come to a complete halt in recent years. Today, however, drastic measures are taken to revive the industry at the national level", said the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. According to him, only 232 kg of silkworm cocoons were produced in Sheki in 2015. However, as a result of measures taken in 2016, the production increased to 70.7 tons of raw cocoons in 25 districts in less than two months, which is 300 times more than in 2015. The most important incentive for farmers was an almost threefold increase in the purchase price: if the kilogram of silkworm cocoon was purchased for 3 manats before, today it is purchased for 8 manats. As it turns out, the production of raw materials is very profitable, as a caterpillar hatched from an egg begins to spin a cocoon after 40 days. Accordingly, thousands of villagers involved in the production of raw materials for approximately 45 days were able to earn more than 560 thousand manats. In the future, these earnings will increase even more, given the recent bill proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture to provide subsidies in the amount of 2 manats per kilogram of raw cocoons and free distribution of silkworm egg to the producers.

"This is only the beginning. In the coming years, we expect rapid growth of production in this important sector, in particular by expanding the raw material base. According to reports, there are about 354 thousand mulberry trees in Azerbaijan but according to our plans some 1.6 million mulberry seedlings should be planted in this autumn", said the president. According to him, this should increase the production of silkworm cocoons to 1.3 thousand tons in 2019.

The critical goal is to develop forage resources for moth caterpillars feeding exclusively on mulberry leaves. To obtain 100 kg of raw silk cocoons, they have to eat about one ton of mulberry leaves. Despite drought- and frost-resistance of mulberry trees, they need fertile soil without access to groundwater. Agriculture experts suggest planting mulberry trees in two dozen regions of Azerbaijan, which are the most suitable for the cultivation. Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture has announced a tender for the purchase of mulberry seedlings in order to garden new mulberry orchards. The experts of the Chinese company Shandong Guangtong Silkworm were the winners of the recent tender announced by the Ministry of Agriculture. They will be responsible for the planting and care of the new plantations. The Chinese company has ensured the use of the most advanced agricultural technologies for the cultivation of mulberry gardens, and will jointly produce silkworm eggs in the future. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture is importing silkworm eggs from China and Iran, which subsequently undergo a period of incubation at the Gakh sericulture station.

The next and the important stage of development provides for the establishment of entire production chain - from silkworm breeding to production and processing of raw silk, fabrics and the manufacturing of finished products. According to experts, only the establishment of necessary capacities for the production of silk fabrics and final products with high added-value will provide higher returns than the export of silk fiber.