As India mulls curbs on Chinese silk, Kashmir Silk may have a new lease of life

By: Imtiyaz Ahmed Shah

Srinagar: In a significant new development, the central government is mulling curbs on Chinese silk imports, which have constituted a major raw material for a variety of silk-based products in India.

Observers believe that with the prospect of much reduced silk imports from China to India in the coming days, Kashmir Silk could have a new lease of life.

The nature and the extent of the curbs are being finalised after officials from the Textile Ministry informed a Standing Committee on Labour that the quality of banarasi silk saris in general was depleting due to cheap imports from China, an official has been quoted as saying.

The officials have now informed a Parliamentary Standing Committee that the center is now contemplating measures to discourage silk imports from China, Financial Express said in a report.

Meanwhile, business analysts in J&K have observed that this situation could offer real new opportunities for J&K to reclaim its lost ground as a world leader in silk production.

“It is time for us to think out of the box; think of restructuring entire chain of mulberry plantation, cocoon production, silk weaving and textile manufacturing in J&K”, said Samir Iqbal, an industrialist based in Srinagar.

Saleem Beg, former Director Industries Department, Kashmir, who has worked extensively on silk industrial development in J&K, told Ziraat Times that there is immense potential which would require a multi-pronged response.

“Italy (which was once the largest silk producing country) had once touted Kashmir to be the “seed capital of the world” ascribing to the optimum climatic conditions”, he said.

“In 1855, Kashmir was in a position to supply 710 kilograms of silkworm seeds to Europe. By exporting silkworm seeds to Europe, the silk industry of Kashmir gained a pivotal position on the silk route of Europe. Rest is history”, he added.

With the changed circumstances, mainly low private sector capacity in managing the full production chain of silk, government silk factories’ central role in processing and production and competition from other new production centers like Karnataka, Kashmir silk is said to have lost its ground to a significant extent.

One of the reasons ascribed to the early decline of silk industry of Kashmir is the inefficient working and the eventual closure of the Ragbagh Silk Factory run by the government itself.

“It was the criminal inefficiency of the Raj Bagh Silk Factory, and that was the reason the Gobdole Committee (1998) recommended to the then state government to stop further hiring in the factory and eventually close it”, says Dr Beg.

For the 13-unit J&K Industries Ltd, the committee said it was losing Rs 6,317.54 for every Kg of silk it produced, Rs 2,117.04 per Kg produce
at its Jammu Filatures unit and Rs 293.60 for every metric ton at its Rajbagh Silk factory unit. Also the government was subsidizing the factory at the rate of 1500 rupees per meter. Therefore, the closure.

However, experts believe that silk sector development in Kashmir would require a major master plan, and not just renovation of old government silk factory.

“It has to be a robust public-private partnership, with government taking up functions in the production chain that it can well manage and the rest of the functions should be done by the private sector”, Dr Beg further said.

Experts also believe that public money in J&K should be invested in the cocoon production and not on new farm and fabric making units at the government level. The recent Rs 63 crore public spending on the renovation of Rajbagh Silk factory is a case in point.