Cambodia is developing the silk sector. This would be done by growing mulberry trees, raising silkworms, equipping the labor force with skills to produce silk, reducing reliance on raw silk from foreign countries, and reducing rural poverty. Training and funds will be offered to develop Cambodian silk production. Cambodian silk will be promoted in domestic and international markets. In recent years, import of raw silk has decreased by about 35 per cent.

The silk sector in Cambodia has been down due to lack of labor as most workers have migrated to neighboring countries and some have shifted from this sector to the manufacturing and industry sector. Mulberry trees are now a rarity in Cambodia. Most were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era.

From 2008 to 2013, the country’s cottage silk weaving industry imported 300 to 400 tons of raw silk from neighboring countries while local production was only a miniscule one metric tons a year to supply the production. The National Polytechnic Institute of Angkor will be the place for research, growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms. This center will be home for displaying modern Khmer silk to the world and boosting the silk sector in Cambodia.