Raw material shortage hits silk industry

Silk, the queen of textiles, has always been the favourite of man. The fabric, which spells luxury, elegance, class, comfort and beauty, has come a long way since it was discovered by Chinese Empress His Ling Shi in 2640 BC.

India, the second-largest producer and the largest consumer of silk, is facing a threat from silk manufacturers abroad, especially China.

According to the statistics provided by the Regional Development Office (Lucknow) of the Central Silk Board (Union Ministry of Textiles), total raw silk production in 2006-07 was only 16, 805 tonnes, while the consumption is in excess of 25, 000 tonnes.

The shares of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal were 8,205, 5,526, 1,125, 1,598 tonnes, respectively.

Talking to Business Standard, the managing director of the National Handloom Development Corporation Ltd (NHDC), JK Baweja, said: "There is a demand of about 28,000 tonnes of silk every year in the country while the production is only 16 000 tonnes. To fill the gap, the manufacturers have no other option but to import from China, which provides them cheaper fabric."

He was present at an exhibition held by the NHDC, a government of India undertaking, under the aegis of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms (DCH).

The federation has taken up a number of schemes for the benefit of handloom weavers over the years, including assistance in the marketing of handloom products.

The exhibition-cum-sale offered a wide range of silk products received from 14 states. Seventy handloom production units participated, of which 13 are government corporations, 54 are co-operative societies and three have participated as a part of the government of India Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Scheme.

"The handloom sector in the country is highly scattered. The NHDC was set up in 1983, as a public sector undertaking, by the Centre for the development of this sector. This includes technological help, availability of raw material, marketing support and design development," Baweja added.

For the benefit of handloom weavers, the Yarn Mill Gate Price Scheme is run under the aegis of Development Commissioner for Handlooms by the NHDC.

The scheme is meant to facilitate a regular supply of basic raw material at reasonable prices to help them in utilising the employment potential of the sector.

"Handloom weavers have been constantly facing problems in timely supplies of yarn in remote, interior and distant places. It is necessary that infrastructure be developed and optimally utilised in these areas to facilitate timely supply of yarn. To encourage various agencies to operate depots on a continuous basis, all categories of yarn (i.e. yarn procured under Mill Gate Price Scheme and also yarn procured directly by the agencies) shall be supplied through yarn depot," Baweja said.

Depot operations, another important scheme of the corporation, enable agencies to ensure uninterrupted supplies of yarn to their weavers; the scheme allows operations of yarn depots using their existing infrastructure without induction of new staff.

The location of the depots is decided in consultation with NHDC. The expenses in operating the depots will be reimbursed to the operating agencies at 1 per cent of value of yarn.

"Eligible agencies like co-optex, APCO (the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers' Cooperative Society Limited) etc place their yarn orders with NHDC, which in turn inform spinning mills to dispatch the yarn through their transporters to the agency on 'freight to pay' basis", added Baweja.

This includes support for organisation of National Handloom Expos/Special expos (exhibitions) to enhance the popularity of the products of a region to another.

In India, mulberry silk is produced in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal, while the non-mulberry silks are produced in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Orissa and the northeastern states.

Silk yarn in India is priced at Rs 1,400 per kg, while the one imported is Rs 1,3 00 per kg or even less. Moreover, Chinese silk is better in strength as it is woven on power loom.

Also, it can be produced up to 40-60 metres per day, while that of Indian silk, which is made on handloom, the productivity is as low as 4-10 metres per day.

"Furthermore, there are people who could provide you with a ready made garment at a cost lower than the rate of the yarn. This further hits the market adversely. But the fact remains that Indian silk is better in quality as it has better texture, feel and flow of the fabric, contrary to that of the Chinese variety which appears artificial and synthetic in nature. So the real silk lovers can differentiate between the two varieties and would definitely go for Indian silk," said Baweja.

The corporation supplies dyes worth Rs 15-20 crore every year. Yarn worth Rs 398 crore was given last year to the weavers. Out of the total silk garments produced, about 90 per cent of them are consumed domestically; only 10 per cent are exported.