Silk market: old brands seek new technologies
Vietnamese businesspeople dream of reviving traditional silk weaving, and In order to do this, they need to find suitable modern technologies.
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And Hanh decided that the shortest way for branding is developing the existing name ‘Dui Thai Binh’ (Thai Binh’s silk). She can see how traditional silk is valuable in modern life.
However, she does not entertain the illusion that the silk products with old value can be accepted in the market. She believes that it is necessary to apply new technology to make silk products.
Other Asian countries succeed with their silk products also because they can uphold traditional brands and develop products with new techniques.
Thai Binh’s diverse silk products, despite the high prices, can attract many people, from material suppliers to designers.
The first pan-Asian silk trade fair held some days ago in Hoi An City showed that Vietnam’s silk products have great potential to develop.
According to Dilip Barooah, chair of the Asia Silk Alliance, silk products account for 0.5 percent of the world’s commercial market share which is worth US$1.15 trillion.
The figure promises great opportunities for Vietnamese silk manufacturers. However, it is not an easy to develop Vietnam’s silk products.
Even Bao Loc Silk Village in Lam Dong, which is believed to be the locality that makes silk under the most modern technology in Vietnam, is also meeting big problems.
Nguyen Tien Dung from Vietsilk Textile, the company puts out 60 tons of silk every year, which is mostly exported to Japan. However, the quality cannot meet international standards because Vietnamese farmers breed degenerated silkworms.
The problem is that silk producers in Bao Loc cannot connect agriculture institutes and order high-quality silkworms. Dung hopes Japanese manufacturers help Bao Loc improve the quality of silkworms.
Ohara Natsuko, an expert from Japan, when introducing the research work co-implemented by Vietnamese and Japanese universities, noted that the weaving and dying technique by the craftsmen in Ha Dong district in Hanoi and Tan Chau in An Giang is wonderful, but it is falling into oblivion, though it is now a growing tendency in the world to use natural materials.
This is attributed to the lack of cooperation among businesses, associations and research institutes.
An analyst said that the silk festival in Hoi An has given a warning to Vietnamese manufacturers that Vietnam is behind neighboring countries in making silk. Cambodia, for example, has conquered the high-end European market.
