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NEW DELHI, Oct. 9

CONCERNED over the cheap imports of silk from China injuring domestic silk growers, the Central Silk Board (CSB) has petitioned to the Directorate of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) for initiating anti-dumping probe into import of raw silk from China.

The CSB Member-Secretary and CEO, Mr. P.Joy Oommen, told reporters that the domestic raw silk price had crashed from a level of Rs 150-160 per kg to Rs 80-90 per kg following the influx of cheap silk from China.

As domestic silk growers are unorganised and in the decentralised sector, the CSB had decided to take up their case, he said adding that he hoped that the DGAD recommendation would come soon.

He said raw silk prices had crashed in leading silk producing countries such as China, which found dumping an easy option. He said such cheap imports would benefit only traders and not growers and consumers.

Mr Oommen said the Tenth Plan had proposed an outlay of Rs 450 crore comprising of Rs 300 crore for mulberry silk and Rs 150 crore for non-mulberry silk for research and development activities. Mulberry silk production would rise from 18,000 tonnes to 24,000 tonnes, while non-mulberry silk would rise to 2,100 tonnes comprising 450 tonnes of tassar, 150 tonnes of muga and 1500 tonnes of eri silk.

Mr Oommen said as the Tenth Plan outlay for silk development had been slashed from Rs 650 crore as proposed by the CSB to Rs 450 crore, the CSB had taken upon itself a variety of initiatives for the sustained development and quality production of silk. One of the major efforts for the development of vanya silk (non-mulberry silks such as muga, tasar and eri) had been UNDP-assisted special programme. The ultimate aim, he said, was to produce international quality grade silk to reduce dependency on imported Chinese silk and hence the thrust in the Tenth Plan included promotion of bivoltine silk production, introduction of quality certification system, product development and diversification.

Mr Oommen said silk exports fetched Rs 2,100 crore last year and during the current fiscal, this would rise to Rs 2,400 crore despite lower raw silk price as the emphasis was on value-added silk items involving non-mulberry silk. He said Japan had emerged as a major buyer of vanya silk and efforts would be made to popularise it in the US too.

Mr Oommen said recent advances at Central Silk Technological Research Institute, CSB had opened new vistas of spinning eri silk in mills employing woollen system for machinery to produce high quality lustrous fine spun yarn. He said the shine and shimmer of eri yarn was better than mulberry spun yarn and could be easily blended with other silks and natural fibres such as cotton and wool. This would also throw open new avenues for large scale introduction of eri culture in states like Jharkhand, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

He said CSB had wound up a five-day exhibition of vanya silk on Wednesday and the plan was to organise similar such events in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai and build brands for this silk both within the country and abroad to cash in on the new-fangled interests in this fabric at retail level for mass customisation and use.

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