About 5,000 families cultivate silk in Afghanistan -- harvesting silkworm cocoons that are then spun into yarn.

Most of these cocoons are exported abroad, with about 40 percent spun into thread in Afghanistan.

Some are then weaved into shawls and exported, mostly to Europe.

The silkworms themselves are a valuable product, with 200 tonnes produced each year, according to officials.

But Afghans who work with silk -- many who have done so all their lives -- are pitting their wares up against cheap Chinese imports, with local traditional methods struggling to stay afloat.