Laos silk price unravels despite rising exports
LAO silk textile exports are continuing to grow but local weavers and traders are receiving less for their products, according to businesses in the sector.
Director of Ammalinh Lao Silk Viengsouthoula Phetsanghane said recently that while weaving overheads have increased the market is demanding cheaper prices but also good quality.
For example, for many years, she has exported her silk textiles to Japan, France and Australia, but prices have recently gone down while the cost of local labour and raw materials has risen.
In the meantime, other Asean countries were also exporting silk to those nations, which has driven down prices in Laos through stiffer competition.
Viengsouthoula explained that as a result, many silk traders have discontinued exporting and instead focused on the domestic market, but it too was very competitive.
However, Viengsouthoula hoped that silk prices would bounce back thanks to Asean countries cooperating under a single brand called “Great Women”.
The brand aims to encourage rural women weavers across Asean countries, giving them the opportunity to export to US and European markets.
Under the initiative, Lao silk is ordered each month in combination with materials from other Asean members and then packed in the Philippines under the Great Women brand for export.
She believed that this would help raise silk prices through fair trade which would encourage weavers to look for more export opportunities.
Weavers said the authorities should assist with researching new markets and negotiating better prices.
Lao exports to the EU in 2016 reached € 204.9 million ($240.3 million), up 16.6 percent on 2015, of which textiles are a staple, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.