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Vishwanath Kulkarni

BANGALORE, Dec. 21

THE directive by the Designated Authority of the Directorate-General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD) to levy an additional duty on Chinese raw silk is expected to lift the domestic silk prices. Industry sources said the latest move is expected to have a positive impact on the domestic prices, which are highly depressed.

Domestic silk prices are now ruling between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 a kg, while the landed price of Chinese bivoltine silk is about $13.5 per kg (Rs 650 a kg).

Commenting on the development, Mr P. Joy Oommen, CEO, Central Silk Board said, "We are happy that the DGAD has acted on time". "The levy of additional duty is expected to provide an effective protection level to Indian silk farmers who produce bivoltine silk of Grade 2A and above to the extent of Rs 1,650 a kg," he said.

"With the possibility that the order is likely to be implemented with retrospective effect, we expect the traders to hike the prices of imported silk to protect themselves," Mr Oomenn said, adding that any rise in prices of imported silk would be reflected in domestic market.

Sources at the Karnataka sericulture directorate said, "The additional levy is definitely expected to have a positive impact on the domestic prices and the development is a moral victory for thousands of silk growers and reelers in the country. It's good to see that the DGAD has closed the matter".

The Central Silk Board and the Karnataka Reelers Association had petitioned the DGAD on dumping of raw silk by some 16 Chinese firms.

Anticipating some sort of an action by the Commerce Ministry, the silk traders over the last few months had imported Chinese silk in excess quantities. Official sources estimate that silk imports are expected to cross 10,000 tonnes in 2002 against 7,500 tonnes last year. While the Chinese firms are trying to exhaust their accumulated stocks by dumping them into India, the traders here, anticipating a surge in demand, have imported heavily.

India is a major importer of Chinese silk. The domestic silk industry, especially the weavers prefer Chinese silk because of its quality and uniformity and also since it is cheaper compared to the domestic variety.

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