Low import duty hits Himachal silk growers (Lead)
December 20th, 2011 - 7:29 pm ICT by IANSShimla, Dec 20 (IANS) Reduction in import duty on raw silk has severely hit the domestic industry, impacting the livelihood of over 9,000 farmers engaged in sericulture in Himachal Pradesh, a government official said here Tuesday.
The silk prices have not fallen due to fluctuations in the international market. However, in the central government 2011-12 budget, the import duty on raw silk was reduced to 5.15 percent from 30 percent, thereby adversely impacting the prices of silk cocoons during the autumn crop this year, an industries department spokesperson told IANS.
More than 9,000 farmers are directly involved in cocoon cultivation in the state, mainly in lower hills of Bilaspur, Mandi, Kangra, Una, Hamirpur and Sirmaur districts.
The spokesperson said the silk cultivation was not encouraging as the Central Silk Board has not offered any participatory proposal to provide the minimum support price (MSP) to the cocoon producers.
“At present, there is no proposal to give MSP to the silk cocoon producers in the state,” Industries Minister Kishan Kapoor told IANS.
The other states involved in sericulture are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The central government was ready to provide MSP to silk farmers but state governments, expect Karnataka, refused to accept the centre’s proposal, said Congress legislator Rajesh Dharmani, who belongs to Ghumarwin assembly constituency in Bilaspur district, which is the hub of cocoon cultivation.
The silk farmers in the state are distressed due to want of suitable price for their produce, he said.
“The state is facing tough competition from China, which is marketing raw silk at much lower rates in the Indian market,” Dharmani added.
To boost sericulture in the hill state, the Central Silk Board of the Ministry of Textiles has sanctioned Rs.4.84 crore Integrated Silk Development Scheme. It will be implemented in Kangra and Bilaspur districts this fiscal.
The spokesperson said Rs.3.91 crore for the project would be borne by the central government, while Rs.51 lakh by the state and the remaining by the beneficiaries.
The project targets to produce 32 metric tonnes cocoon, he added.
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Tags: central government, central silk board, development scheme, government official, hamirpur, himachal pradesh, import duty, industries minister, jammu and kashmir, kishan, legislator, mandi, msp, rajesh, raw silk, sericulture, silk cocoon, silk cocoons, silk cultivation, state governments