India to soon overtake China in silk production, says Union Minister for Textiles

India will soon overtake China in the production of silk, said Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh.

Addressing the gathering at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Central Silk Board (CSB) in Mysuru on Friday, Mr. Singh claimed that the annual production of silk in India had reached almost 40,000 metric tonnes per year against the 50,000 metric tonnes produced by China.

While China accounted for 50,000 metric tonnes out of the global silk production of 94,000 metric tonnes, silk production in India had grown from 28,000 metric tonnes to almost 40,000 metric tonnes at present, he said.

Claiming that there was a demand for Indian silk even in China, Mr. Singh expressed confidence that the silk production in India can go beyond 50,000 metric tonnes and even reach 100,000 metric tonnes in the coming years if production of mulberry silk in South India and Eri silk in North India reaches saturation.

Cocoon prices doubled

Ten years ago when the BJP-led government came to power in 2014, the average price of cocoon was ₹260. During 2022-23, the average price was ₹ 550 per kg, but came down to ₹440 per kg during 2023-24.

While assuring to ascertain the reasons for the dip in prices of cocoons last year, Mr. Singh said his Department will work towards stabilising the prices of cocoons.

Facility centre

Reacting to a complaint from former Minister and Chikkaballapur MP K. Sudhakar about the alleged interference of middlemen in the silk trade that was depriving the farmers of their due share, Mr. Singh suggested that the State Government should set up a Common Facility Centre for the same.

He pointed out that businessmen from Bengaluru had entered the silk industry forcing the farmers to approach the intermediaries. As the Centre does not have any role in the extension work, the State should set up the Common Facility Centre that would facilitate the farmers of not just Karnataka, but the surrounding States including Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Textiles Pabitra Margherita said he did not have any idea about the existence of middlemen in the silk trade. However, he assured to work towards eradicating middlemen from silk trade if they existed.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, while addressing the gathering, said Karnataka accounted for 42% of the almost 40,000 metric tonnes of silk produced in the country.

Earlier, Karnataka’s Minister for Animal Husbandry and Sericulture K. Venkatesh said there was a huge demand for Mysuru silk sarees, but the State-owned Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) has not been able to match the requirement.

Even though the State Government has been making efforts to increase production of silk by installing more Automatic Reeling Machines (ARM), assistance from the Centre was needed to facilitate the sericulture farmers so that production is increased.

Published - September 20, 2024 09:08 pm IST