BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. Chinese Xinhua News Agency has prepared a special report on the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and China in the field of silk production, Trend reports.
The report was prepared from the Azerbaijani town of Gakh, where, against the background of morning fog, Chief Engineer Nemat Suleymanli was inspecting a young silkworm plantation at the local silk breeding station.
"There are 30,000 Chinese seedlings growing on these three hectares, planted in 2019. You can see, almost reaching my shoulders already," he says. - In six years, we imported 4.5 million seedlings. This is a revival.
The piece says Azerbaijan once ranked second in the USSR in cocoon production - up to 20,000 tons a year. Local silk was exported to Japan, Switzerland and Italy. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, silk farming was on the verge of extinction. “In 1986 we produced 6,000 tons of cocoons, and in 2015 - only 236 kilograms,” recalls Akram Fataliyev, who headed the Gakh breeding station for 40 years.
"The turning point came in 2016: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on state support for silk breeding. A project to introduce new seedlings was launched, and the first Chinese seedlings crossed the Tien Shan and the Caspian Sea to put down roots again in Azerbaijan. This has become a new chapter in the cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative".
To develop the industry, the “State Program for the Development of Cocoon and Silk Breeding in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2018-2025” was adopted in 2017. The country started to actively purchase seedlings from China, incubate them and distribute them free of charge to farmers to bring cocoon production up to 6,000 tons per year," the report said.
The main partner is Shandong Guangtong Silkworm eggs Co., Ltd.
"In 2018, China-Azerbaijan cooperation in silkworm breeding reached a new level. With the technical support of China, the breeding station in Gakh was reconstructed," the material says.
Chief engineer N. Suleymanli explained that now varieties “Gakh-1” and “Gakh-2” are grown. The cocoons will soon begin to form, after which a new variety will be obtained. Two more seedlings varieties are expected to be delivered from China.
MeanwhilI, this year the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan again imported 5,000 boxes of seedlings from China, supplemented with 1,000 boxes of locally produced seedlings. The projected harvest is 240 tons.