The government is planning to reopen the Karnataka Silk Marketing Board (KSMB) office in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to make available raw silk reeled in the State to weavers in the north Indian city that is known to produce the Banarasi variety of sarees.
A delegation led by Karnataka’s Minister for Sericulture K.C. Narayana Gowda is scheduled to meet Sericulture Department officials at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, on November 18.
“They are expected to discuss the proposal to reopen the KSMB unit in Varanasi and set up a system for silk marketing,” said a source in KSMB.
The KSMB branch in Varanasi was shut in 2002. “But, there was no disruption in the silk trade between reelers of Karnataka, particularly from Siddlaghatta and Ramanagaram, and weavers in Varanasi,” the source said.
Silk traders based in Chickpet in Bengaluru also purchased raw silk in bulk for weavers in Varanasi and Surat in Gujarat, another source said.
In view of the renewed demand for silk from Karnataka, the State Government wants to reopen the KSMB office in Varanasi, the source added. “It will help the local reelers as well as sericulture farmers of Karnataka.”
At one point, KSMB had almost 30 offices across India, including parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, but the number was brought down to 16 due to various reasons.
The State Government’s decision to reopen its KSMB office in Varanasi has been welcomed by the Karnataka State Silk Reelers’ Association president Mohammed Muheeb Pasha. “The move will help reelers in Karnataka,” he said before pointing out that the quantum of raw silk sent to Varanasi from Karnataka had come down in the last few years due to various issues.
N.Y. Chigari, former deputy director of Sericulture, government of Karnataka, says that silk from Karnataka was sought-after by weavers in Varanasi and Surat. But, in the early nineties when cocoon production was badly hit by Pebrine, a disease afflicting silkworms, the weaving industry in Varanasi found itself in the doldrums till the Centre came to their aid by facilitating import of Chinese silk.
Mr. Chigari, who is now the Chief Executive Officer of Koppa Sericulture Farmers’ Producer Company, a government of India enterprise, said the Varanasi weaving industry is quality conscious.
Officials said KSMB is a price-stabilisation entity of the State Government that intervenes whenever the price of raw silk or cocoons crash.
“The KSMB had intervened during COVID-19 pandemic when the the sericulture industry was caught a major crisis. KSMB not only purchased raw silk from reelers, but also offered loans by accepting their unsold silk as security. This, in turn, facilitated purchase of cocoons by reelers and bail out sericulture farmers who were unable to find purchasers for their produce,” an official said.
The price of raw silk, which was around ₹2,500 per kg during COVID-19 in 2020, has now gone up to ₹4,600 per kg. Karnataka, which is the highest producer of raw silk in India, produces up 8,000 metric tonnes of silk every year.
Web portal
Welcoming the State Government’s proposal to reopen the KSMB office in Varanasi, Mr. Chigari said there was a need to launch a web portal giving details of availability of raw silk in different parts of India to weavers and traders.
Mr. Chigari, who is also a member of the Silk Association of India, said the issue of starting a web portal was discussed during a meeting of the Association in October. The web portal should provide details of type of raw silk (Bivoltine or crossbreed), dinear (density of fibres), place of availability and volume, which would be of immense help not only to reelers, but also weavers and traders in different parts of India.
The State Government, or its entity like KSMB, should take the initiative to start such a web portal, he said.
The demand for silk from Karnataka is not restricted to Varanasi. Even Surat in Gujarat has a large weaving community that sources raw silk from different parts of Karnataka, including Siddlaghatta and Ramanagaram, he said.
