Abstract
Simple SummaryThis paper describes the 16-years long activity of the Black Caspian Seas and Central Asia Silk Association, which was founded in 2005 to revive the sericultural activity in the area indicated by its own denomination. The reasons why this Association was established are described as a direct consequence of the decline in the sericulture agroindustry following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the world cocoon/raw silk decrease of production (except for China and India) since the 90s of the 20th century. Therefore, the enlargement of its membership to countries outside of the boundaries of the geographical area is outlined as well as its internal organization and the actions performed to promote the interaction among the member countries, especially the biyearly conferences. The international scenario is depicted to explain the criticalities experienced in promoting sericultural activities in the region, as well as the opportunities offered by the new applications of the silk, silk proteins and mulberry derivatives.The history and recent activities of the Black Caspian Seas and Central Asia Silk Association are presented in this paper: the countries that participated in its foundation, the FAO’s action to revitalize sericulture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the following widening of the Association geographical limits of to enclose other European countries, which were not well-represented in other similar organizations. Some statistical data are illustrated for a better description of the scenario in which the BACSA executive board acted: the world silk production quantity and the relative production of BACSA countries in respect to the Chinese expansion. The themes treated in the BACSA conferences are reported to explain which matters the Executive Board considered the most relevant for the relaunch of this activity in relationships to the international challenges in the subsequent years; the project proposals that were presented to international donors are summarized. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is shown, where key-factors in determining the strengths and weaknesses of this organization and its member countries for a successful re-establishment of sericulture, are considered. In addition, future trends of sericulture with regard to innovative productions and the Green Deal are examined.
Highlights
Sericulture preservation and revival—problems and prospects (2019): During this conference the BACSA members discussed about the world trends of silk production, in particular the decrease of the cocoon quantity annually available in China and the increase of the international price
BACSA carried out a series of activities that can be better understood when we compare the situation before 2005, when BACSA was established, and at the present time; from this comparison it is evident this association’s role in the regional sericulture preservation, revival and development (Table 3)
Dramatic climatic changes began to negatively affect silkworm rearing with serious fluctuations in the average temperatures even in the seasons traditionally favorable to sericulture; the lack of climatic control of silkworm rearing facilities and of digital automatic control of temperature and humidity can cause big problems to larval development; heavy droughts, late frosts, excessive rains compromise mulberry leaf harvests; high temperatures and humidity favor spreading of insect pests, which are more invasive due to the increased globalization of the transport of goods around the world, which works as an involuntary carrier
Summary
At the Soviet Union breakdown the Central Asian region, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran was still a remarkable cocoon and silk producer (even this region is engaging in the industry about 450,000 farmers) [3]; at that time the Eastern part of Europe, which was under the communist umbrella of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and Turkey, were still producing large quantities of silk, while the Western Europe and Greek sericulture activities had already considerably declined. In the long term the constant increase of the Chinese silk that was poured over the market caused an excess in the circulating quantity of this fiber, its international price fell down (about 24% only in 1997), reaching even USD 22/kg of raw silk [4] In this scenario only India, and Brazil, remained comparatively competitive, while all the other countries in the world were forced out of the market, or remained on the very edge (Uzbekistan, Thailand, Vietnam). The monopoly of silk production, joint to the double price policy, permitted China to obtain the absolute leadership in the cost of raw silk and even of silk tissues and clothes [4]
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