Asia Section

Situation Silk in Cambodia

Time:2016-12-06 Source:

  

Mr. PAV Eang Khoing

  Silk Production Director, Artisan Angkor Co. Ltd

  Siem Reap, Cambodia, (855)12 979 068

  eangkhoing@yahoo.com, www.artisansdangkor.com 

   

To: President of Zhejiang SCI Tech University and All Teachers and speakers,

  First I would like to thank to President of Zhejiang SCI Tech University that created this workshop train that I get chance to come here to understand about silk production more deeply, also thank to all teachers who teach and guide our group to visit the real production activity and also the staffs who stand by to assist us, they done excellence job very helpful for us.

  Summary on what we are here:

  First is China is the birthplace of silk which has been in the history of since over 6000 years ago.

  What I get to know about silk and its development action with new technology?

  I-Get to Know and will improve

  - Today Silk in China developed a lot to reach the requirement of market in term of quality and cost to get the stabilization of production and re increase the production with the new technology (from the Eastern to the Western) and new area of production site after dropping the production due to many impact facing. It is very proud of changing base on very strong abilities of China government and silk producer companies or silk associations.

  - Congratulation of the successful of research on male silk thread I hope that this new technology will bring the famous to silk product to increase its well-known of new founding.

  - So amazing the technology development of silk industries in China especial on the Jacquard weaving technique both design program and machinery development.

  - Understand the concept of design with new technique and software that is the key to develop the product rank to reach the market.

  - I hope I will bring the knowledge to apply in our production process to develop to catch up the world development of silk textile, hope I will join the member of International Silk Union.    

  II-Concerning of trading: To enlarge our market we need to export

  -What I concern is the more requirement of test/check of Europe is the barrier of export. The big company can survive and can apply but the small company cannot apply due to cost of application. I think should find out the solution to make any memorandum with each other to avoid conflict interest of both part.

  III- Conclusion:

  - What I concern is the more requirement of test/check of Europe is the barrier of export. The big company can survive and can apply but the small company cannot apply due to cost of application. I think should find out the solution to make any memorandum with each other to avoid conflict interest of both part. So I do believe we will have some agreement to make easy on the business matching and sit down to find the solution together.

  - I do strong believe that silk will be more useful for human and alive with us.

  1-Briefly history of silk in Cambodia:

  Textile is a part of culture that produced for costume or customs of each country or nation.

  According to the research found in the inscription in stone that Cambodia has trade on the textile product since Chenla Empire. As the record of Chiv TaKvan, the Chinese historian noticed that trading of textile in Cambodia since Fu‐Nan reign (3rd to 7th century) that mostly import from China. Meanwhile Khmer people still wearing the breech cloth, so the purpose of textile fabric use by king and for royal ceremony. Cambodian kwon how to produce textile product since 9th century before Angkor Empire by using many type of material like barge or leaf of the tree, kind of grass, liana vine and also cotton. The presence of silk production in Cambodia since the 13th century.

  Another evidence found that activities of textile of Cambodia growth up again in the1950 to1975, it is the period that Cambodian use their own idea and creation to create and design the collection of apparel, costume, Pidan, scarf or Krama and create new motif or pattern by using silk material /thread.

  Cambodia has its own species silk worm that can adapt of living with the weather, is Bombyx Mori or Mulberry Silk. The identity of Cambodian silk thread is Yellow or call Golden silk the quality very high and the tension very strong/ not fragile it is high value of silk thread.       

  Moreover, I found that Cambodia is the huge bank of textile and motif that until today we are not yet collect back what we were losing during the civil war since the decline of Khmer Empire (it was start to rebirth it one period from 1950 to 1975 but destroyed again on Pol Pot region (1975 to 1979)). But we still in hope we have remaining human resources who know about traditional textile and luckily that most of textile collection was carved on the wall of temple that tell us about the style, motif and the using in that period.

  Artisan D’ Angkor is the biggest company who try to rebirth of producing silk textile since1998 in the mission of research and re‐training the traditional textile skill to young generation, also we try to promote the silk product from Cambodia by using and maintain traditional textile (hand woven) with mostly 500 weavers from rural area of Siem Reap town. We also have our own silk farm to produce our own Cambodian silk thread too, for our thread we produce only the mixed silk and fine silk thread for the quality we use our own number of twist and also limited the number of cocoon to produce thread per meter. It is our web “www.artisansdangkor.com”.​ 

  2-Situation Silk in Cambodia:

  Today the activities of silk in Cambodia face with some influent action that make producers in this subject /career gave up and change to work with other career like garment factory, other agriculture plantation (not plant mulberry tree, take time and high cost), construction labor, office work or the labor go to work abroad, the difference factor that threaten to the loose of silk activity in Cambodia    

  a-Silk Threading in Cambodia:

  In Cambodia there are many place found used to produce silk thread with plantation of mulberry tree in Takeo province, Komport province, Prey Veng Province, Kompong Cham province, Kandal province, Banteay Meanchey province and Siem Reap province.

  The silk industry represents a complex value chain from the cultivation of mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms at its start until the sale of the final products to the customers at its end. Efforts have been made by the Royal Government of Cambodia and international donors in various stages in order to help each of its components.

  After Pol Pot regime Cambodian villagers start to reproduce silk thread again but in the traditional way not highbred so the productivities very few in the above provinces. But from the year 1997 there are few project that support by European Union, AFD, France government, Japan Government and also the Royal Government of Cambodia, start to develop and improve the action of silk production in Cambodia mean their project is to train the villager on modern agriculture for plantation of mulberry tree to get more productivities of leaf and during that time they also train them on how to increase productivity of silk thread by new method of crossbreeding of silk worm, made to be highbred by using the work from Thailand to crossbreed with the worm in Cambodia, but until today the final result of production of silk worm in Cambodia produce about 300 to 400 meters per cocoon only, so in traditional way producers hard to earn the profit from feeding cocoon in Cambodia, that before Cambodian villagers plant mulberry tree and feeding cocoon as is a sericulture plantation that help to increase their yearly income.

  From time to time silk thread is improving the production result to totally 5 tons per year and the year 2005 is the biggest production result and until today the production silk thread in Cambodia remaining in around 1 ton per year that silk breeders dropped from about 2000 families to only about 250 families who continue to breed the silk worm especially the old who work on their home land – the factors impact - supporter leaving, the weather change, no support of thread technique, no support market, the income from silk threading lower and lower by impact of disease of work and also the worm are very fragile to take care, living condition higher and higher so the villager give up silk subject to do other thing- like some change to plant cassavas or rice and some change to plant mango tree that they can earn more than silk even the price of increase from 2004 is 25 USD per kilo to 100 USD per kilo in 2016, where the silk need in Cambodia about 400 tons per year and they was import from China, Vietnam, India and some from Italy and South Korea. 

  b-Silk Traditional textile in Cambodia:

  Relate to silk textile in Cambodia, since we finish the civil war, after Pol Pot regime everything destroy and also expert of textile were killed in that period so from 1980 everything is new so the period of 1980 to 1990 is the period of imported textile product for use but from 1990 the textile start to rebirth again by the villager and the expert by supported of some grant and some NGOs, the area of silk textile in Cambodia today is Takeo, Kandal, Prey Veng, Kompong Cham, Steung Treng, Banteay Mean Chey and Siem Reap province, those place are doing the difference skill that they learn from their elders, note that in Cambodia until today not yet have school to textile just only center.

  We have only hand woven and especially we product silk for fine silk fabric “call PHAMOUNG” and another kind of fabric if from Ikat “ call Hol” that we create the pattern of the weft thread as picture or the Buddha story or motif, Sampot and Krama.

  According to the demand other silk product in Cambodia now have: Krama / scarf, home decoration or home-furnishing, bag and accessories, clothes/apparel. From traditional design to the contemporary collection / design they also have two kind of coloring is natural dye mostly we work on Hol, Pidan and some scarves and we use differences kind of chemical to dye too for example DyStar, Thai Dye….., but the most common use now is Dystar from Germany the quality of coloring and not allergy to the skin of user silk products.

  The most of silk fabric (Phamoung) and Ikat fabric (Hol) is about 60% of production were used by local consumer for the costume that use in ceremony, evening show or joint wedding party the rest are export or trading with tourist market.

  Based on research data from 2016 in Cambodia has remaining about 5,000 weavers only who continue to work in traditional textile that some of them work with silk and some they work with cotton thread but the report year 2005 there were 20,000 weavers trained and active their loom. The forming of silk weaving and production of final handicrafts are closely interlinked, as an estimated 250 SMEs, NGOs and middlemen play a crucial role in the entire value chain. The SMEs purchase inputs, design products and subcontract the weaving to loosely organized weaver groups. The weaver groups are mostly subcontracted via individuals such as intermediary traders and village group leaders, who in turn organize production by the weaver groups. The weavers are supplied with raw materials by the SMEs, NGOs, middlemen and their intermediary traders, and village group producer leaders. After production, the hand-woven product is collected and supplied to the SMEs, NGOs or middlemen. These do the finishing of the product (knitting, sewing, stitching, screen printing, embroidery, washing and ironing) either by themselves in-house or by subcontracting other service providers.

  The income from silk weaving reported by different weavers varies widely, depending on skills, product groups (e.g. Ikat or plain silk) and market linkages. An assessment of the primary data of the 2015 ITC weaver survey shows an average monthly income from silk weaving of US$214 for all weavers with 1–3 employees. While some individual weavers report an average monthly income from silk as low as US$50 per month. Weavers who employ 2–3 persons reach an income of up to US$1,230 per month. There are a few weavers who follow a different business model (the above mean that silk producer need to joint group of Dyeing, Knotting Ikat, operation warp and weaving- this is an impact of labor cost low but production cost high due to long production process and step).

  Silk weaving provides income in remote rural areas which is similar to the minimum wage in the garment industry, but often goes along with much higher market uncertainty. The advantage of handloom weaving of silk is that the work is mostly done at household level in rural areas. Silk weaving generates additional income to farming activities and the weaver can stay at home or work closely to their home. She can take care of her family and children and has lower living costs than in urban areas.

  The local producer gain less productivities so to help improve productivity increases should also be envisaged with regard to dyeing, printing, sewing and embroidery. Research and pilot projects should be conducted on potential productivity increases in weaving, dyeing, printing, sewing and embroidery; with expert advice, coaching and technical training, design and also helping in promotion their products. 

  c-Silk Trading in Cambodia:

  Today trading silk product in Cambodia is downing because the cost of silk thread is high so the cost of final product is expensive too and plus cost of labor also increase. So the local textile product hard to trading by comparing with import product because the import product most of them from factory (industrializing not hand woven) and the also they are not​​ use pure silk (satin, synthetic or mixed with others material).​ For example our company “Artisan D’ Angkor Co., Ltd” we use pure silk with high quality of yarn and we maintain on tradition textile (hand woven) with mostly 500 Artisans (weaver) that totally we consume around 14 tons of silk per year. We also impact with many competitors and the industrial textile product imported too, this the reason that the number of local producers decrease dramatically due to high competitor the more difficult for them is the textile must work in group cannot do it individually either need member of family to help.

  Trade in silk yarn reflects the dynamics of production of silk yarn and its consumption for the production of silk fabrics. Trade in silk fabrics in turn reflects the global dynamics of production of silk textiles and their consumption for the manufacturing of finished silk products (clothing, accessories, home decor, etc.). Finally, trade flows in finished silk products such as clothing and accessories reflects the dynamics of global supply and demand for those products. Today Cambodia is a net importer of silk yarn for the domestic production of silk fabrics. It is, however, a net exporter of silk clothing, apparel and home decor, mainly in the high value segment. An analysis of global trade dynamics provides insights about Cambodia’s position in the global silk trade and how the latter affects this position.

  While the recent boom in the tourist market and some export promotion initiatives have opened up new perspectives for a number of shops, traders and organizations. Cambodian silk products are appreciated by tourists and foreign buyers for their various designs, quality and hand weaving techniques. Traders started to develop export of silk items, several international market surveys and pilot projects have identified the silk sector as an important potential export sector to generate income for disadvantaged population groups in order to contribute to poverty reduction.

  Cambodia remains a small player in the global silk market with a global market share of less than 1%. However, the Cambodian silk sector has demonstrated gradual growth of its cross-border exports. Cambodian exports of silk products stood at US$32 million in 2013, while imports were about US$2 million and the trade balance accounted for US$30.1 million. In 2014 Cambodian silk sector exports totaled US$35 million, which represented about 0.3% of Cambodia’s total exports. With the exception of 2007 and 2009, its trade balance has been positive since 2004, which reflects a fair degree of specialization and offers a sound basis for market and product diversification. This trend is consistent with the experience of Cambodian SMEs in the silk sector reported by CEDEP progress reports and Silk Strategy consultations. (data from ITC)

  Below table show where we export too.

  3- Conclusion:

  The future growth of silk industry will partly depend on the sustainability of each component of the value chain. Incentives may be given to farmers so that they cultivate enough mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms. The success of the research to breed the right species of silkworm who shall produce high yield of silk threads and the accessibility and availability of the eggs to Cambodian breeders is also essential to ensure availability of quality Cambodian silk threads at competitive cost to the producers. Last but not least to weight on the future of the Cambodian silk industry is the capability of local producers such as Artisans D’ Angkor to offer and promote high quality silk products with creative designs who can attract local and international clients. And

  I confident that in Cambodia still have the opportunity for the investor to come to invest in silk subject:

  1- Silk Threading is an opportunity to invest in Cambodia because no industrial invest on this subject yet and the field is suitable/reasonable cost to invest and also workmen.

  2- Industrial silk production in Cambodia is the link of silk threading that will provide local thread can be cheaper than imported and also the local consumers are promoted to use silk as their exclusive/custom to join ceremony or evening show, more is on this is the increasing of number of tourist to Cambodia until today is 5.5 million visitors visit this heritage /historic country that is the benefit for the investor of silk product because silk is kind of high value of souvenir for parent or friend or other special present.

  3- Design and style is also promote and pushing the sale of silk product because in Cambodia do not have enough the textile designer to develop or help to producer to produce the right product to reach the consume need, even we has many motif, style recording on the wall of temple but we need to redevelop and coloring them to fit with the season.

  

  Report from International Training Program on Processing Technology and Innovation Design of Modern Silk Products