Bangladesh wants to develop its silk industry. The traditional silk industry has lagged behind economically and market is limited. Original silk has been replaced by synthetic duplicates. Bangladesh imports 486 tons of silk mostly from China every year as the local production of raw silk is only 24 metric tons against the demand of 510 tons. Local production of silk meets only 4.7 per cent of the domestic demand.

The country also wants to encourage production of quality silk for export. The main constraints of the silk sector in Bangladesh are a shortage of local mulberry production, obsolete technology, poor advertising, inadequate capital and insufficient governmental facilities. The sericulture industry in the country has largely become stagnant. Silk production declined dramatically over 1995 due to an increase in VAT on imported silk, followed by devastating floods in 1998.

Mulberry leaf is the food on which the silkworm lives. Production of raw silk is directly dependent on the production of this leaf. In Bangladesh mulberry plantation occupies now about 4,000 hectares. Bangladesh today can produce 80 to 100 metric tons of raw silk if it utilises its present resources. India is the second largest producer and the largest consumer of silk in the world.