Although India is the world’s third-largest exporter of silk, exports from the sector have been on a continuous decline for quite some time now. In an exclusive interaction with The Dollar Business, Satish Gupta, Chairman, Indian Silk Export Promotion Council (ISEPC), discusses the reasons behind the fall and suggests initiatives to help boost exports of silk and silk products from the country.
TDB: How has silk exports from India evolved over the last few years? Which product categories do you think have the highest potential for growth?
Satish Gupta (SG): Export of silk and silk products from India has witnessed various radical changes, especially over the past few years. With the rise in the cost of raw material, currently, international buyers are mostly looking for two categories of products – high-fashion exclusive garments and low-cost fashion accessories such as scarves, shawls, etc.
TDB: As per Silk Board statistics, export earnings from silk have fallen from $323.57 million in FY2016 to $248.59 million in FY2017. What are the reasons for this steep decline?
SG: There has been a continuous decline in exports of silk and silk products from India. There are many reasons for the decline, but the two biggest hurdles to exports, as of now, are the rising cost of raw material and a strong domestic demand. Though India is the world’s second-largest producer of silk, it is also one of the major consumers of the product. Unfortunately, despite improved quality and increased production, we have not been able to stem the decline in exports.
TDB: Silk producers have raised concerns about the impact of mulberry silk import from China on their business. What’s driving its import from China? Why is Indian textile industry not procuring it from domestic market?
SG: Import of mulberry silk from China has been on the rise because our domestic consumption is much more than our production. Indian textile industry has a huge demand for low-cost silk and is naturally turning to source it from China. For the purpose of exports, textile manufacturers rely on domestic silk producers who fulfil their demand for high-quality silk required for making exclusive fashion-oriented garments.
This story is from the December 2017 edition of The Dollar Business.
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This story is from the December 2017 edition of The Dollar Business.
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