Kochi: Central Silk Board (CSB) chairman H. Hanumanthappa said that silk exports from India dropped between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 1,500 crore from the previous Rs. 3,500 crore owing to the global economic recession.
Speaking at the opening of a Silk Mark Organisation of India show here on Wednesday, he urged the silk industry to diversify to tide over the present crisis and to woo more domestic consumers.
He said that the gap between the annual production and demand for silk in India was almost 8,000 tonnes. India produced 18,000 tonnes of silk annually and the actual demand was 26,000 tonnes.
This, Mr. Hanumanthappa said, was proving beneficial to China, which had an annual silk production in excess of one lakh tonnes.
He said that silk from China was making its way into India through both “legal and illegal methods.”
Out of India’s annual production, Andhra Pradesh accounted for 5,000 metric tonnes, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu 1,500 tonnes each and Karnataka1,000 tonnes.
Mr. Hanumanthappa said that in comparison, Kerala’s share was a meagre 20 tonnes. The Silk Board was making efforts to bridge the gap between production and demand to stave off the competition from China as also to secure self reliance in silk. Towards this end CSB was carrying out researchand development activities, besides engaging in transfer of technologies.
Mr. Hanumanthappa said that though production and sale of silk was the domain of States, CSB was willing to extend technical and financial assistance.
He said that SMOI served as a protecting to consumers helping them to secure pure silk. The SMOI already had more than 1,200 members across the country, he said.
Source : The Hindu