While coastal textile clusters grapple with overcapacity and volatile orders, a 2-billion-yuan sericulture chain is quietly taking shape in western China's mountainous region. Data from Shiquan County, Shaanxi, reveals a growth path distinct from traditional scale expansion: in 2025, the county produced 92,000 silkworm egg sheets and 3,682 tons of cocoons, with total output value exceeding 2 billion yuan. What's more telling is that this wasn't achieved by simply expanding acreage—the synergy of capital, talent, and brand restructuring is the real lever.
Capital Allocation: From Scattered Subsidies to Targeted Investment
The turning point for Shiquan's sericulture upgrade lies in a fundamental shift in how capital is deployed. A total of 19.8 million yuan from Jiangsu-Shaanxi cooperation funds was concentrated on building multi-layer silkworm rearing workshops, young silkworm co-breeding centers, and modern processing lines. These facilities directly pushed cocoon silk grades to the national 6A level, earning both national geographic indication and China-EU mutual recognition certification. For buyers, this means the western region now has the capacity to stably supply high-grade raw silk, not just primary cocoons.
Targeted funding also boosted yield per unit. Automated feeding tracks and constant temperature/humidity control systems increased the output per silkworm egg sheet by nearly 30%. This marks a shift from extensive, weather-dependent farming to factory-based, standardized production. For downstream fabric mills, stable quality and output reduce supply chain risk.
Digital Transformation: Solving Labor Shortages and Efficiency Bottlenecks
Sericulture has long suffered from an aging farmer population and technical gaps. Shiquan's approach goes beyond simple machine replacement. By co-establishing a sericulture technology research institute with universities and forming an expert think tank covering breeding, plant protection, and processing, the county brings frontier research into field applications. AI image recognition for pest detection and sensor monitoring of mulberry fields have reduced pesticide use by over 20%.
Widespread adoption of automatic cocoon harvesting and reeling machines has lowered labor intensity. Data shows that among the county's 8,000 silkworm households, average annual income increased by over 3,000 yuan, with some large-scale farmers earning over 100,000 yuan. Notably, young 'second-generation silkworm farmers' are returning, becoming skilled, management-savvy 'new farmers.' This trend signals that western sericulture is shedding its 'backward industry' label and moving toward a technology-intensive model. For equipment suppliers and digital service providers, this represents a promising incremental market.
Brand and Cultural Empowerment: Value Leap from Raw Material to Consumer
Shiquan has moved beyond the traditional 'cocoon and silk' mindset, systematically leveraging the national treasure 'Gold-Gilt Bronze Silkworm' as a core IP. Currently, over 80 derivative products have been developed, including silk quilts, mulberry leaf tea, silkworm sand pillows, and mulberry branch mushrooms. More importantly, the chain extends to cultural tourism—the 'Mulberry Sea Pastoral' agri-tourism complex receives over 1 million visitors annually, generating over 90 million yuan in tourism revenue.
Brand storytelling, facilitated by the Jiangsu-Shaanxi cooperation platform, has promoted the 'Shiquan Silk' regional public brand to wider markets. For buyers, this means Shiquan is no longer just a raw material source but a source of high-value-added products with brand premium. For foreign trade firms, the China-EU mutual recognition certification lowers export barriers, with 6A-grade silk directly targeting European high-end fabric markets.
Benefit-Sharing Mechanism: Micro-Foundation of Chain Resilience
Another feature of Shiquan's sericulture chain is its profit distribution mechanism. The 'leading enterprise + cooperative + farmer' model integrates 8,000 households into the chain, with sericulture income steadily rising as a share of local farmers' disposable income. This mechanism ensures stable income expectations for farmers even during market price fluctuations, thus maintaining breeding scale.
From a macro perspective, this model reduces the risk of chain disruption. While eastern textile clusters face labor shortages and rising costs, western regions maintain supply continuity by stabilizing farmer incomes. For fabric mills that source western raw materials long-term, this constitutes a key safeguard for supply chain security.