ReturnUnion Budget 2012-13 presented on Friday has dashed the hopes of lakhs of sericulture farmers and silk reelers across the State, who were eagerly awaiting the restoration of import duty to 31 per cent from the existing 5 per cent.
Sericulture farmers and reelers are understandably downcast as they had begun agitations from the time the import duty was dropped last year as it had led to a crash in the prices of cocoon.
The price of cocoons, which was around Rs. 350 a kg, plunged to Rs. 130 to Rs. 160 a kg. Similiarly, the price of raw silk plummeted from Rs. 2,600 to Rs. 1,800, hitting not only reelers, but also cocoon growers.
“There is nothing to cheer for sericulture farmers and reelers as the budget has not restored the import duty on raw silk to 31 per cent,” Minister for Sericulture and Labour B.N. Bache Gowda told The Hindu.
The cut in import duty to 5 per cent let to the import of silk from China.
The livelihood of about 10 lakh people in the State is linked to sericulture. Mr. Bache Gowda condemned the Centre's attitude and said the Finance Ministry and Textile Ministry have not come to the rescue of sericulture growers of the State.
Around 80 per cent of the total silk production in Karnataka takes place in Kolar, Mysore, Chickballapur and Chamarajanagar districts. Sericulture farmers in these areas staged roadblocks as the duty cut had resulted in a considerable drop in their earnings.
Condemned
All-India Struggle Committee Against Duty Free Silk Import convener G.C. Bayya Reddy also condemned the Union Government for its refusal to come to the aid of the sericulturists.
“It shows that the Union Government has no concern for farmers and reelers. It is only protecting the interests of middlemen, who trade in silk,” he said.
The struggle committee will meet on April 26 to chalk out its future course of action, which will include a Parliament chalo in April to bring pressure on the Centre.
North-south difference
The State Government too had led delegations to the Centre several times seeking hike of import duty. “The delegation impressed upon the Centre to roll back the concessions for import of silk, take urgent steps to announce Minimum Support Price (MSP), establish a revolving fund of Rs. 200 crore for sericulture farmers in the State and give incentives to farmers rearing bivoltine cocoons,” Mr. Bache Gowda said. “The Centre is only protecting the interests of traders and weavers of north India.”
Mr. Bache Gowda claimed that the weavers' lobby was concentrated in north India, and they had successfully managed to bring pressure on the Centre to reduce the import duty. “This sounded the death knell for sericulture farmers of south India spread across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
The country's raw silk requirement is estimated to be around 28,000 tonnes, while the production is 18,000 tonnes. The balance is made good by imports from China. Karnataka, with a mulberry cultivation spread across 62,000 hectares, produces around 8,000 tonnes, accounting for almost half the country's silk production.
