Silk Industry Statistics

More than a symbol of luxury, silk quietly spins livelihoods across rural Asia and beyond, employing tens of millions—mostly women and tribal communities—and returning over half the retail value to cocoon growers while a single hectare of mulberry can sustain a dozen workers year-round, post-cocoon reeling and handloom weaving provide millions more jobs, modest start-up costs and public support are boosting incomes and expanding the sector, and certification and traditional skills help ensure this low-capital, high-equity industry truly weaves poverty reduction into local economies.

A whisper in volume but a shout in value, silk accounts for under 0.2% of textile fibers with roughly 91,834 tonnes of raw production yet was worth $16.9 billion in 2021 and is on track to reach about $35.8 billion by 2030, dominated by Asia-Pacific and China and driven by textile and bridal demand while vegan, organic and spider-silk innovations, rising online sales and luxury spending push growth even as production dips, raw material prices wobble and cosmetic and medical uses remain a modest five to eight percent of the market.

The global silk industry reads like a historic tapestry, with China firmly on the throne producing roughly 53,000 to 60,000 tonnes of raw silk and Sichuan and Zhejiang accounting for over half of that, India a vital runner-up at about 33,770 tonnes led by Karnataka (nearly 45 percent of India’s mulberry silk) and Andhra Pradesh as the second-largest state, Uzbekistan third with roughly 2,000 to 2,400 tonnes, Vietnam, Thailand and Brazil supplying important regional or heritage volumes (about 1,000; 500 to 600; and roughly 460 tonnes respectively, with Brazil exporting nearly 95 percent of its premium yarn to Europe and Hermès), Japan reduced to under 15 tonnes by industrialization, Iran, North Korea and Bangladesh sustaining small revivals at a few hundred tonnes, Madagascar and Myanmar supplying niche wild and small-scale silks, Lyon and Italy preserving Europe’s high-end weaving and processing despite importing raw silk, and Assam alone producing 90 percent of the world’s Muga silk while India’s North East supplies 100 percent of the country’s Oak Tasar.

Silk's global story is both elegant and precarious, with over 85% of raw filaments exported from China and Vietnam while countries such as India, Italy, France, the United States and the UAE import that material to feed mills and fashion houses, generating billions in finished goods demand and a post-pandemic rebound yet leaving the industry highly concentrated and vulnerable to shifting supply chains and modest tariffs.

Silk's glamour masks a resource intensive reality: a single yard can require 2,500 to 3,000 cocoons and fabric production may demand 20,000 to 50,000 liters of water per kilogram and emit 26 to 30 kg CO2 equivalent per kilogram; India’s output is 95% mulberry with 73% of that coming from superior bivoltine stock, yet the sector also includes ethical and exotic threads such as Eri peace silk, GI tagged golden Muga, rare lotus fiber and the now extinct sea byssus, while recycled yarns, waste reuse, lab grown silk that can cut water use by up to 90%, biodegradable fibroin for medical use and innovations like conductive Therendia and spider strength analogues offer real ways to reconcile luxury with sustainability under standards such as ISO 15604 and organic rules.