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| A new silk route | | India's silk industry deserves a boost |
| Business Standard / New Delhi Jul 07, 2011, 00:54 IST |
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The rising demand for commodities in India is encouraging what economists have dubbed cross-country “land grabs” — long- term leasing of land to produce natural resources. Raw silk is the latest in the line of such contractually-produced commodities. The Union textile ministry is reportedly exploring opportunities in Africa to secure supply of silk. Several African countries are seeking overseas direct investment by Indian companies, some through joint ventures, to promote silk production and export. The move to diversify sources of silk is also aimed at reducing the Indian silk industry’s excessive dependence on China. A bulk of the indigenous output of silk comprises multivoltine silk produced by silkworm species that reproduce several times a year. But this is poor-quality silk. Moreover, domestic demand for silk is far outstripping domestic supply. Though considerable research and development effort has gone into generating technology to improve local silk, even the best available multivoltine silk fails to match bivoltine silk in quality and is, therefore, unsuitable for making garments of international standards. Therefore, importing bivoltine silk from China, the world’s leading producer and exporter, and from smaller countries like Vietnam, Thailand and even Bangladesh, has become necessary.
Given the global and domestic demand for India’s distinct and traditional silk products, such imports are necessary, and so are other ways of augmenting supply. Overseas Indian investment, including in silk plantations, and measures to promote captive silk production and skill development in other countries are gaining momentum. However, a strong case exists for encouraging domestic production of silk and sustaining traditional silk crafts and skills. India retains tremendous unexploited potential for silk development. Unlike many other countries, where climate-related factors allow no more than a couple of cocoon crops a year, in India, even four to six crops are possible. Besides, sericulture (rearing of silkworms and the plants that feed them), and down-the-line processing to produce silk fabric, is a labour-intensive cottage industry that can generate the much-desired supplementary employment and income for tribals, landless people and small and marginal farmers. This can also contribute to women’s empowerment since a bulk of the operations in the silk sector are carried out by them, right from tending silkworms to spinning or reeling silk yarn and weaving the fabric. Fortunately, technology is available for producing bivoltine silk with desired traits. What is lacking is new investment in new technologies. Silk producers need assistance in replacing their multivoltine silkworms with those that yield bivoltine silk sturdy enough to be used by power looms. This will require creating infrastructure and facilities for multiplication, supplying improved breeds of silkworms and inducting better processing technology. Finally, India’s silk-based businesses have to move from home- and cottage-based production to large-scale manufacturing, as in China. The Chinese authorities have actively promoted silk development and are encouraging the production of Indian silk textiles, including traditional Indian silk textiles, in China. Before China-made Benarasi and Kanjivaram silk floods the Indian market, domestic manufacturers need to become more competitive.
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