Anantapur: Chinese silk has eaten into the traditional markets in India, thanks to the largescale import and alleged zero trading. Due to the reduction of customs duty on silk imports, the Chinese have swamped the south Indian sericulture industry, resulting in cocoon prices falling steeply from Rs 400 to Rs 180.
China had developed various species of silk worms to get top quality filament while reeling without any discontinuation on fully automatic machines. The Centre had reduced custom duty from 30 per cent to 10 per cent on import of Chinese silk four months ago. The relaxation hit the Rs 1,000 crore Indian market, leaving silk farmers, reeling and weavers sectors in a crisis.
Karnataka, AP and Tamil Nadu are top producers of silk in the country and have an entire leaf-to-cloth programme. AP produces 31,000 metric tonnes of mulberry cocoons while Karnataka tops with 50,000 metric tonnes. Famous silk sari varieties especially from Kanchi and Dharmavaram occupy the market in many countries.
There is no cocoon production in north India, but there is a thriving weaving industry there. YSRC leader and progressive farmer M. Anandaranga Reddy of Siddagiri in Madakasira mandal said that the price of silk cocoon was Rs 400 last summer, but local traders are not willing to buy even at Rs 180 this year.
China produces purely bivoltaine silk with world class quality as the fully automatic reeling machines can easily reel out filament continuously up to 1,000 metres. India produces mainly multivoltaine silk of low reel quality. Indigenous multivoltaine cocoons will not give continuity in reeling, and the threads have many cuts even on semi automatic machines that have been installed in Ramnagar in Karnataka, Rawoof a charaka reeler from Hindupur said.
Chinese silk and indigenous varieties are available at Rs 2,800 in the open market but weavers prefer Chinese silk for this reason.
CPI state secretary K. Ramakrishna alleged taht the Centre was opting for apathetic policies on many sectors including silk industry after reducing import duty on Chinese silk that is devastating the indigenous sericulture industry including farming and non farming sectors in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. The sericulture department had represented to the union ministry of textiles to increase customs duty on Chinese silk to save local industry.
Anantapur sericulture joint director K. Aruna Kumari said, a team of 15 farmers will represent the Centre soon. She added, about Rs 50 as incentive was being given on each kg of bivoltaine cocoons to ensure minimum support price. Hindupur MP, Nimmala Kristappa said he had already represented the ministry of textiles on the issue. “I'll take a farmers delegation to the union minister and connecting departments.”
