Van Phuong Silk Trade Village

Van Phuong village (Lien Phuong commune, Hung Yen city) has the long-standing silk making job; Van Phuong silk was once comparable to Meo silk (Thai Binh) and Nam Dinh silk. Before 1991, Van Phuong textile had developed significantly.

There was a textile co-operative in Lien Phuong commune with more than 400 labourers, most of whom were Van Phuong local people, accounting for 50% of labourers in the commune. At that time, the silk production output was about 400,000 m, 150,000 m of fibre, and 100,000 wash-clothes. The turnover of the trade village calculated according to current exchange rate was approximately VND 6 billion per year and the average income per main labourer was stably at VND 300,000 per month. After 1991, due to the loss of the fibre source from USSR and the abolishment of supplying materials for the textile industry by the State, the management board of the co-operative did not adapt to the market mechanism. Due to capital shortage and difficulty in finding markets for the products, the co-operative suffered losses and went bankrupt. Van Phuong lost its profession since then; the once-famous Van Phuong silk trade village no longer exists.

          In 1998, Hung Yen Department of Industry cooperated with the local government to study and find solutions to restore the trade village. However, due to the lack of markets and high requirement of investment capitals, the restoration of Van Phuong trade village has not been carried out.