TEHRAN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran has raised tariff on imported silk threads by 11 percent to support domestic producers, the Financial Tribune daily reported Tuesday.

The tariff increased from 15 percent last year to 26 percent in the current Iranian fiscal year, which started March 21, said the report, quoting Ali Asghar Dadashpour, head of the Sericulture Expansion Center affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture.

The tariff for cocoon imports remains at five percent, the same as last year, Dadashpour said.

"Such measure will encourage merchants to import cocoons rather than silk threads, which will help silk factories and workshops that were closed down to get back on their feet," Dadashpour added.

Sericulture or silk farming has been practiced since ancient times in Iran, and at present nearly 18,000 households in the country are active in the field.

In Iran, silk threads are used in weaving of carpets and production of apparel, shawls, scarves and handicrafts.