The State has the scope to double silk production with more automatic and multi-end reeling units and larger area under mulberry cultivation.
An official of the Tamil Nadu Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles, and Khadi Department said the State has three reeling units and more than 30 multi-end silk reeling units.
The annual cocoon production in the State is 12,500 tonnes and silk production is 1,975 tonnes. Just 452 tonnes of cocoon are processed here. The rest goes to Karnataka because of the large number of reeling units in that State and higher prices for silk.
Silk production is high in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. With improvement in mulberry cultivation and focus on the post-cocoon activities, such as reeling, silk production can improve in Tamil Nadu. Nearly 42,000 acres is under mulberry cultivation now. The payback period for those setting up reeling units is just about two years. Hence, more entrepreneurs should look at the potential in this sector, the official said.
Another official at the Directorate of Sericulture said there were plans to add four more automatic reeling units and 25 multi-end reeling units in the State this year.
“We are educating the investors. It took about 15 years for the multi-end reeling units to be accepted by entrepreneurs. There are central and State government schemes under which entrepreneurs can get support for setting up these units,” the official said.
