Central Silk Board seeks re-look at anti-dumping duty provisions.
After being banned from dumping raw silk and silk fabrics, China has found a newer route to enter the Indian market. The biggest producer of silk in the world has now started ‘dumping’ twisted yarn in India about 25 per cent less than the domestic price. While the Indian twisted yarn is available for Rs 1,700 per kg, China is selling its yarn at Rs 1,250-1,300 per kg. As a result, the local twisting units have suffered and as many as 2,000,000 of them have shut shop. This has been a major concern for Indian silk industry, said H Hanumanthappa, chairperson, Central Silk Board (CSB).
Addressing reporters here on Monday, Hanumanthappa said, there is a need to restructure the anti-dumping duty on the silk being imported from China. “Prices of sericulture commodities had come down during 2002-03 and 2003-04 due to large scale dumping of Chinese silk yarn and fabrics in the country. Prices have now improved because of the imposition of anti-dumping duty on low-grade silk yarn and fabrics imported from China. However, China is now playing a different tactic and is trying to push twisted yarns that do not come within the ambit of anti-dumping duty,” he said.
In order to support the domestic silk industry and curb the inflow of cheap sericultural commodities, the CSB has sought a re-look at anti-dumping duty to bring twisted yarn under it, Hanumanthappa said. Anti-dumping duty on the import of raw silk will be in force till January 2014 and on silk fabrics it will be in force till April 2011.
Silk exports from India have withstood the impact of global recession, though there was a marginal decline in shipments. Exports were around Rs 3,100 crore during the last fiscal as against Rs 3,300 crore a year ago. The US, UK, Germany and Italy are major buyers of silk fabrics from India. India ranks second after China in silk production. The country, with an annual production of about 18,370 tonnes of raw silk, accounts for 15 per cent of the silk produced in the world
