Seed import halt hits silk production

The lockdown imposed in Punjab after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has badly affected the domestic silk industry.

Hundreds of families involved in the sector could not rear silkworm during the past year due to lack of import of seed.

According to the Punjab Forest Department's Sericulture Wing, the seeds will arrive from China in February and farmers will be able to resume work. Last year, the department planned to provide silkworm seeds to 1,000 families so that they could produce silk in their homes. However, the seeds could not be imported from China due to the lockdown enforced to curb coronavirus.

Punjab Sericulture Assistant Director Mohammad Farooq Bhatti told The Express Tribune that the department had some stock, which was given to about 250 families but the target was not met.

He said that interest-free loans of Rs20,000 to Rs25,000 for the families to buy silk seeds had been started with the help of a social welfare organisation. “However, we have not been able to import the seeds, while the results of the local seeds are not good.”

According to Bhatti, 46.5% of the demand in the world is currently being met using synthetic silk, which is having a negative effect on people’s health.

“That is why we have tried to promote the domestic silk industry with foreign seeds in partnership with the private sector, which increased the possibility of achieving the target of production in the country. Currently, more than 1,000 families in the Changa Manga area of Kasur and nearby villages are associated with silk production and silkworm rearing at homes,” he added.

Barkat Ali, a resident of Changa Manga, said he had been raising silkworms at his home for years. The women of the family also support him in the work. “It is a very simple job and it draws a good income. But last year we didn't get the seeds. Officials say the seeds could not be imported because of coronavirus. It was a difficult year for us.”

Najma Bibi, a resident of the same area, said the seeds she gets from China produce healthy insects quickly, while the local seeds do not yield good production. She said she hoped to be able to rear silkworms again once the pandemic is over.

The sericulture department official said that under an agreement with a Chinese company, seeds would reach Pakistan in the second week of February and “we will be able to start raising silkworms again”.

A packet of silk seeds imported from China costs Rs2,000, from which about 30,000 eggs are produced. Silk larva is being sold for Rs750 to Rs850 per kg in the local market of Changa Manga. A packet of seeds earns a family Rs30,000 to Rs35,000 a month.

According to a report, Pakistan spends Rs64 billion in foreign exchange on silk imports annually. Last year, 500,000kgs of silk was imported.

Bhatti says the silk industry is being revived. Mulberry trees have been planted on hundreds of acres of land in different parts of Punjab like Changa Manga, Chichawatni, Mandi Bahauddin, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Mian Channu, Bahawalpur and Gujarat, and foreign silk seeds have been imported.

"Our goal is to provide employment to 100,000 families," the official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2021.