In Uzbekistan over the last two years, a number of presidential decrees have opened up new opportunities for training and starting small businesses. And as the country's economy opens up, its ancient silk industry is picking up as well. CGTN's Guy Henderson reports from Margilan in the Ferghana Valley.  

The beating heart of the Uzbek silk industry. The weavers are finding their rhythm at the Margilan Craft Development Centre.

In the old days, they'd toiled long hours for little pay. Now they're skipping out the middle man – the state – and going straight to the marketplace themselves.

The textile industry has a special place in Uzbekistan's economic reform programme. So young ladies like 18-year-old Sakhawat Khan now dare to dream.

Once she's mastered the trade, Sakhawat says, she'll train as an economist and start her own business. Many young Uzbeks now display that same optimism.

The centre's head says removing the fixed exchange rate has had a huge impact as well.

RASULJON MIRZAAKHMEDOV MARGILAN CRAFT DEVELOPMENT CENTER "The president passed a decree specifically for the textile industry: businesses don't have to pay rent to the state anymore for example, and we can now convert our export earnings into local currency without huge costs. All these changes are impacting the industry as a whole and each individual involved in the trade. We can do businesses in neighbouring countries without issues."

There is growing global demand for these high-end products. Some of the silk rugs here are made with 4 million knots per square meter and are selling for up to $25,000 USD.

The cotton business is rising too. This factory was opened last year: it's high-tech and large-scale. More than a thousand workers keep this place ticking 24 hours a day. "Uztex" is involved in every level of the production process: from cotton picking, all the way to final product.

UMAR HAYAT DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION, UZTEX "Adding value to the products is always helping the company to be more strong and definitely in only yarn production, we can only add value like maybe 50%, or 100% maximum. With the finished product, you can add value of 1,500%."

The Uzbek government wants to replicate that right across the economy. The reforms are wholesale – not just tweaks. The end product, it's hoped very profitable. GH, CGTN, Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley.