Kashmir’s famed silk industry faces imminent demise

Official negligence, low incentives and cheaper alternatives caused a decline.

MIRPUR: Once famed for its fine silks, Jammu and Kashmir has all but lost its title as the premier producer of silkworms. A primary source of revenue for the state, the silk industry is on the verge of collapse in the disputed Himalayan state. 

A century ago, Kashmir had a “dynamic silk trade”. Silk yarn was exported to the West and within the British Empire in the 1940s. Kashmir had indigenous races of silkworm and produced the best quality cocoons in the world,” said an official associated with sericulture or silk farming.

Statistics show that cocoon production topped 1,500,000 kilogrammes at its peak in the 80s which dipped to 60,000 kilogrammes a decade later. The negligence of the government of the disputed valley of Jammu and Kashmir, political interference and low market prices deterred farmers from rearing silkworms. From hundreds of reeling basins, 31 remained in 2008-09 and raw silk production was just 17.1 metric tons (MT) in 2008-09.

The government closed down the state-owned Kashmir Filatures last year. “Excess manpower was employed due to political interference; the filatures had high operational costs,” officials said. Kashmir Filatures is spread over 70 kanals which can sell for 700 million to one billion Indian rupees. The proceeds must be used to revive the firm, stated a report by the Held State Finance Commission. Land owned by sick units is reportedly being sold at throwaway prices to government departments. Officials trace the decline of Kashmir Filatures to de-monopolisation of the industry and its bifurcation later into Kashmir Filatures and the sericulture department. The de-monopolisation paved way for filatures from Indian states to buy Kashmiri cocoons at prices which were too high for local filatures, depriving them of raw material and precipitating closure of firms.

The region produces the best quality Bivoltile silk. But the irony is that less than 30 per cent of cocoons produced indigenously are used for local silk production,” officials said. Cap on cocoon prices for nearly two decades was a blow to the farming community. Now the price is 210 Indian rupees per kg, unattractive for farmers, while open market rates touch 600 Indian rupees per kg,” sources said.

Where are own indigenous silkworms now, officials ask. The demise of the local industry and availability of cheaper alternatives caused farmers to abandon sericulture. Experts believe invasion of low-cost silk yarn from China destroyed the industry. There was no policy framed to tackle the invasion, officials said.

Even the carpet industry in the valley now depends on imported silk. However officials at the sericulture department argue everything is not lost. Cocoon production, they said, has witnessed an upward trend in the past few years and demand for Bivoltile silk is above 5,000 metric tons in the country. “The private sector has encouraged competition which is proving beneficial for farmers,” officials said.

The silk industry has fared no better in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Experts say despite the allocation of funds by the government for reviving the sector in the state’s annual budget, it is threatened because of declining cocoon production.  Despite hectic efforts, no senior official in Muzaffarabad could be contacted for information on the decline in sericulture in AJK.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th,  2011.