The Hindu Business Line : Silk exports likely to exceed target by 10 pc

However, the current year (2002-03) has started on a positive note fuelling hopes that exports may post a 10 per cent increase over the target, said an official in The Indian Silk Export Promotion Council (ISEPC) here.

According to him, production centres such as Bangalore, Varanasi, Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Champa (Chhattisgarh) have reported that the production of fabric and made-ups is on in full swing.

However, the production of silk garments has been affected by a lack of demand in the US. This may pull down the total exports, he said.

Silk exports for April-May 2002 stood at Rs 301.28 crore as compared to Rs 307.32 crore in April-May 2001, a marginal drop of two per cent for the two-month period.

According to figures available with the ISEPC, exports of natural silk yarn, fabrics and made-ups increased by 20.6 per cent to Rs 223.23 crore (Rs 185.13 crore) in the period under review.

On the other hand, the export of readymade garments fell 35 per cent to Rs 63.03 crore (Rs 97.01 crore), while silk carpets were down 30.4 per cent at Rs 12.07 crore (Rs 17.35 crore). The export of silk waste dropped 62.3 per cent during the period to Rs 2.95 crore (Rs 7.83 crore).

The export of natural silk yarn, fabrics and made-ups to France dipped 5.42 per cent at Rs 8.55 crore (Rs 9.04 crore), while that to Germany were down 0.36 per cent at Rs 15.80 crore (Rs 15.86 crore). Exports to Italy increased 20.41 per cent to Rs 12.90 crore (Rs 10.71 crore), while exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE spurted 117 per cent and 77.33 per cent at Rs 14.65 crore (Rs 6.72 crore) and Rs 13.73 crore (Rs 7.74 crore) respectively. Exports to the UK (Rs 18.28 crore) and the US (Rs 69.23 crore) grew by 12.64 per cent and 18.42 per cent respectively over the two-month period.

In the silk ready-made garment sector, exports to France grew by 60.13 per cent at Rs 2.83 crore (Rs 1.76 crore). Exports to the US market dropped 42.39 per cent at Rs 23.94 crore (Rs 41.56 crore), while that to Germany fell 77.49 per cent at Rs 2.24 crore (Rs 9.96 crore). Exports to Saudi Arabia jumped up 94.54 per cent at Rs 2.02 crore (Rs 1.03 crore), while that to the UAE grew by 12.23 per cent to Rs 7.79 crore (Rs 6.94 crore).

Exports of silk carpets took a hit as exports to the UK market dropped 37.60 per cent at Rs 1.18 crore (Rs 1.89 crore), and that to the US fell 21.80 per cent at Rs 4.86 crore (Rs 6.22 crore).

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