Spring silkworms in Hechi's Yizhou district have begun to form their cocoons. The first batch of cocoons is expected to be on the market in late April, and they are expected to fetch 50 yuan ($7.7) per kilogram.

Yizhou district had 378,600 mu (25,240 hectares) of mulberry gardens by mid-April. Of this total, the newly-added area is over 1,600 mu, and a transformation program has been implemented for 20,000 mu of low-yield gardens.

Yizhou has been committed to boosting the silkworm industry in recent years, driving growth in the industry and increasing farmers' incomes.

The total output value of silkworm production, cocoon silk processing, and the comprehensive utilization of silkworm resources in Yizhou reached more than 4.5 billion yuan in 2020, while the per capita income of farmers involved in silkworm breeding was over 5,560 yuan.

The area of mulberry plantation and fresh cocoon production has been the highest in counties across the whole country for 16 consecutive years. In addition, the processing of cocoon silk and comprehensive utilization of silkworm resources has been ranking first among all counties in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region for 16 consecutive years.

A mulberry garden in Yizhou district. [Photo/gxnews.com.cn]