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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 July 1999 Issue No. 437 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 July 1999 Issue No. 437
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Focus Books Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Silk revival
By Zeinab Abul-GheitA LE75 million project to produce silk is currently being implemented on 20 feddans in the Borg Al-Arab district, west of Alexandria. Its aim is to revive what once was one of Egypt's finest traditional industries.
The most advanced technology has been used to plant some 200,000 mulberry trees imported from Korea and Japan. The end result should be silk cloth in quantities sufficient for both local consumption and export, according to the project's founder, Ahmed Abul-Enein.
The project is to be expanded at a later stage with an additional 3,000 feddans allotted to it by the Ministry of Agriculture.
"This species of tree yields leaves several times a year, compared to the traditional mulberry tree which produces only once a year," said Abul-Enein.
Egypt's once flourishing silk industry, which had its heyday in the 19th century, has now been reduced to a marginal business.
In the past silk was a sign of social prestige, worn by members of the upper class and the affluent merchant class. Today, the local silk industry provides mainly shawls and coffin wrappings, while finer quality silk cloth is imported.
"Egypt no longer exists on the silk industry map. Syria has replaced Egypt in the world market. Syrian silk now competes with Japanese and Chinese silk," said Abul-Enein.
Through a firm established to produce the silk, Al-Amal Misr Company, 1,000 feddans have been given at no cost to investors and graduate students in return for their cultivating mulberry trees at their expense. However, loans are provided by the Social Fund for Development (SDF).
A contract has been signed with the Chinese Company for Spinning and Weaving for technology transfer and the provision of machines to produce silk cloth and carpets. Annual production is targeted at 12 million metres of silk.
Under this modern system, unlike the old one which bred silk worms once a year, breeding will continue throughout the year. This will allow production more than once in a 12-month period. "As a result of modern silk-breeding techniques, plus the new type of mulberry seed, every tree will yield 20 tons of leaves annually, which will ultimately rise to reach 80 tons," said Abdel- Hadi Megala'a, director of the Sericulture Research Department affiliated to the Agricultural Research Centre.
The new system also provides a better quality of silk, producing fine cloth as well as carpets and thick textiles.
The project is expected to provide 5,000 work opportunities, Abul-Enein said.
A similar project is being undertaken in El-Fayoum Governorate, according to Mohamed Foda, a researcher at the Sericulture Research Department.
In October an international conference on the natural silk industry will be held in Egypt, which was nominated as the venue during the International Conference on Natural Silk held in Brazil in 1996.
Abul-Enein said Egypt has the potential to become an important silk producer in the Middle East. "I am planning to make this project a national one because it has the potential to expand to over 5,000 feddans during the coming year." He appealed for the planting of mulberry trees "in front of houses, in public gardens and along the highways."
