The principal raw silk markets of the world are Yokohama, Lyons, New York, Milan and Canton. Of these, Yokohama is probably the largest and most important, due to the pre-eminent position of Japan in raw silk production.
Seasons 1917-1918 to 1922-1923
| 1922-1923 | 1921-1922 | 1920-1921 | 1919-1920 | 1918-1919 | 1917-1918 | |
| Crops in Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds | Pounds |
| Europe | 8,841,000 | 7,628,000 | 8,058,000 | 4,927,000 | 6,978,000 | 7,154,000 |
| Viz: | ||||||
| Italy | 8,234,000 | 7,066,000 | 7,330,000 | 4,045,000 | 5,942,000 | 6,217,000 |
| France | 437,000 | 430,000 | 551,000 | 397,000 | 540,000 | 452,000 |
| Austria | .... | .... | .... | [7]331,000 | [7]331,000 | [7]331,000 |
| Spain | 170,000 | 132,000 | 177,000 | 154,000 | 165,000 | 154,000 |
| Levant | 1,543,000 | 1,213,000 | 1,654,000 | [7]2,293,000 | [7]2,293,000 | [7]2,293,000 |
| Asia: Total Quantity Exported[5] | 57,439,000 | 53,941,000 | 35,138,500 | 51,860,000 | 45,475,000 | 48,026,000 |
| Viz: | ||||||
| China, Shanghai | [6]8,628,000 | [6]6,993,000 | [6]]6,518,500 | [6]10,225,000 | [6]9,209,000 | [6]8,563,000 |
| China, Canton | 7,050,000 | 5,735,000 | 4,210,000 | 7,093,000 | 3,704,000 | 5,170,000 |
| Japan, Yokohama | 41,541,000 | 40,982,000 | 24,300,000 | 34,222,000 | 32,308,000 | 34,050,000 |
| India | 220,000 | 231,000 | 110,000 | 320,000 | 254,000 | 243,000 |
| Total, Pounds | 67,823,000 | 62,782,000 | 44,850,500 | 59,080,000 | 54,746,000 | 54,473,000 |
| Tussah | 2,034,000 | 1,856,000 | 1,650,000 | 1,960,000 | 1,561,000 | 1,534,000 |
| Grand Total, Pounds | 69,857,000 | 64,638,000 | 46,500,500 | 61,040,000 | 56,307,000 | 59,007,000 |
[5] The production of raw silk in China and India is unknown. The Japan crop is approximately 47,000,000 pounds.
[6] Excludes Tussah silk.
[7] In the absence of statistics from Austria and the Levant, 1915 production is used as an estimate.
Courtesy of The Silk Association of America
Unpacking Bales of Raw Silk
The Yokohama Raw Silk Exchange operates on a basis similar to that of the various cotton exchanges, and transactions are carried on in “futures” as far ahead as five months. The speculative element is very active and its influence is often felt extensively throughout all phases of the industry. On several occasions it has been necessary to close the exchange to avert real disaster after the quotations have been manipulated to an unbelievable extent. During the last few years the Japanese Government and various silk organizations have, by law and regulation, succeeded in improving this situation to a very great degree, and the benefit has been felt throughout the industry.
Raw silk is sold by weight—in Yokohama, by net weight, that is, less wrappings, etc. Of recent years in most countries it has been the custom to deal by conditioned weight, and as a result the conditioning process has become an important side line in the industry.
Conditioning is desirable principally on account of the fact that raw silk absorbs considerable moisture. A careless buyer may find after delivery that he has purchased more water than he has silk. To avoid this possibility, Asiatic and European markets in particular have adopted the conditioned weight basis—absolute dry weight plus 11 per cent moisture. Quotations are often given on invoice weight, which is conditioned weight plus a 2% margin for variation.
A conditioning house, besides examining for weight, also conducts numerous other tests necessary to conditioned silk. The main factors taken into consideration, besides weight, are size, color, cleanliness, boil-off, winding strength, elasticity, and general uniformity.
As regards size, the unit is the denier, an ancient French weight equal to .05 gram; the size is measured by the weight in deniers of 450 meters of the thread. As previously stated, the 13/15 denier size is the standard used in the United States, although the larger and smaller grades are dealt in to some extent for special types of products. Size is always given as averaging between certain deniers (such as 13 to 15) as it is impossible to attain absolute accuracy in reeling, and slight variations cannot be avoided, either within the bales or within the skeins themselves.
The color test is concerned merely with uniformity in shade, which makes accurate dyeing possible. The cultivated silks are either pure white or yellow, according to the variety of cocoon from which they are derived.
The term “boil off” refers to the amount or percentage of gum on the filament. As explained before, the individual strands of fibre adhere together through a gummy substance secreted by the worm. The amount found in the reeled silk varies with different kinds from 10 to 25 per cent by weight—which is brought down to a minimum by the boiling process.
Winding strength is measured by the breaks that occur in winding. In this country the test is based on the number of breaks occurring in 30 or more skeins wound at the rate of about 120 yards per minute. This test is extremely important since a weak thread can do much to hinder an efficient re-reeling process, inasmuch as each break stops the machine and must be tied by the operator.
The question of classification of raw silk for market and the various terms used for its purchase and sale is a complicated one. Standardization has been sought after for a good many years and committees both here and abroad have studied the problem on various occasions—but without entirely satisfactory results. The chief source of trouble appears to lie the many types of variation that may occur, not only on account of the great number of qualities required in the product, but also due to the varying conditions under which the silk is produced. In the early days of the industry, when farm production was the chief source of supply, particularly in Japan and China, satisfactory grading was almost an impossibility. However, now that sericulture and reeling has come more and more into the hands of the large companies and filatures, a greater degree of standardization can be reached.
The following is an actual example of a recent quotation list in the New York market as it appeared in a commercial paper:—
JAPAN
(Ninety Days’ Basis, 13-15 Denies)
| Kansai | Double Extra Cracks | $6.15 @ | $6.20 |
| Kansai | Double Extra “A” | 6.05 @ | 6.10 |
| Kansai | Double Extra “B” | 6.00 @ | 6.07 |
| Kansai | Best Extra | 5.95 @ | 6.02 |
| Kansai | Extra | 5.90 @ | 5.97 |
| Kansai | Best No. 1 to Extra | 5.87 @ | 5.95 |
| Kansai | Best No. 1 | 5.85 @ | 5.92 |
| Kansai | No. 1 | 5.82 @ | 5.90 |
| Sinshiu | No. 1 | 5.77 @ | 5.85 |
CANTON
(Ninety Days’ Basis)
| King Seng gr. 14-16 | $6.40 |
| Favorite—Double Extra 20-22 | 6.00 |
| Favorite—Double Extra 22-26 | 5.90 |
SHANGHAI
(Ninety Days’ Basis)
| CHINA STEAM FILATURE | |
| Gold Double Deer, new crop | $7.50 |
| Geranium, new crop | 7.25 |
| Comet | 6.60 |
| Tsatless Blue Dragon and Flying Horse | 5.60 |
| Black Lion, No. 1-2 | 5.10 |
| Tussah—Best chops | 3.90 |
ITALIAN
| Grand Extra Classical | $7.00 |
| Extra Classical | 6.80 |
| Best Classical | 6.70 |
RAW SILK PRICES
NEW YORK MARKET
1913-1923
Courtesy of The Silk Association of America
In the Japanese classification, Kansai and Sinshiu originally indicated the section of Japan where the silk originated, but of recent years they have come to mean hard or soft natured silks respectively. The “Sinshiu No. 1” is usually considered the standard quotation to use in judging the market trend.
The Chinese quotations are probably the most difficult to understand since they go almost entirely by “chop”—that is, well-known brands which are marked in some distinctive way, as shown on the above list of quotations.