Silk traders call for association to boost sales
Silk traders call for association to boost sales
The sale of silk textile products on the domestic market fell by about 25 percent last year due to the conomic downturn, with women reluctant to buy expensive silk products.
In Vientiane, sales have fallen by about 20 percent and revenues have been falling since 2013.
But one silk trader says there is a lack of assistance from the Lao Handicraft Association in finding other markets in the region.
The owner of Lao Silk, Ms Mork, complained the association was doing little to encourage its members to expand into new markets by focusing on other countries in Asia or even in Europe.
Lao silk products could be distributed in other countries if the association helped weavers to improve their product designs to suit these markets.
She said the association should be fair to all silk textile traders so they are able to access markets, and not just limit assistance to only well-known wholesalers or traders who market overseas.
Ms Mork believed this would help smaller silk product traders survive and boost their sales.
The association also had to push for a ban on the sale of copied silk products in the country, especially those from China, as the inferior quality weaving was weakening the sales of high calibre Lao products.
However, last year, she observed Lao silk textile products were gaining more interest from foreign tourists, especially Thai customers who were purchasing them as souvenirs, which was a positive sign with some sales growth.
Meanwhile, Ms Mork was confident there was potential for silk sales growth for traders if economic conditions in Laos improved this year and if there was cooperation on exports to the Asean region.
She hoped that when Laos becomes part of the Asean Economic Community, the finely crafted silk textile products would enjoy expanding industry exposure and sales within the region.
