The demand for Greek silk from fashion houses and European businesses in general is increasing, and the two main Greek silk factories in the Soufli region, Evros, are investing in boosting their production.
However, the production of raw material in the region, namely the cocoons, which give the silk fiber, while it was already insufficient, received an additional blow following the OPEKEPE scandal.
The silk farmers in the region are trying to join forces to increase their production and for this reason they established a Cooperative, with approximately 15 members.
However, the OPEKEPE scandal with the illegal subsidies also affected sericulture, as sector representatives pointed out to “N” that the production of 1,200 boxes of silkworm eggs in Crete had been falsely declared two years ago, when Soufli – the real center of Greek sericulture and silk manufacturing – declared 700 boxes. The result is that the real sericulture farmers of Evros have lost at least half of the subsidies they were entitled to, at the same time that the demand from the international market for Greek silk is increasing and the Soufli silk factories are forced to largely procure raw materials (cocoons and silk fiber) from abroad.
The owner and head of the Mouchtaridis Silkline, Konstantinos Mouchtaridis, pointed out to “N”: “Sericulture in our region, the production of silk fabric is going very well. The production of cocoons is not going well. In my opinion, people in sericulture should accept developments and that we cannot be part of the global market with the old methods, old mindsets and without any development. We are ready to process the cocoons, we have proposals from all over Europe to give them silk, as long as we extract it.”
The owner and head of the Tsiakiris Silk Factory, Giorgos Tsiakiris, underlined to “N” that there is increased demand from abroad, mainly from the European market and Fashion Houses for Soufli silk, while domestic demand is also showing an upward trend.
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