Save Assam Silk

Pranjit Agarwala

Since time immemorial sericulture and weaving have been traditional pursuits of the rural folk of Assam enabling them to supplement their agricultural incomes as well as meet their personal requirements of cloth. Environmentally also Assam is the only place in the world suitable for producing all the four varieties of natural silk i.e. eri, muga, mulberry and tussar. Despite these distinct advantages of having a traditional cottage industry, eco-friendly climate for producing raw silk and availability of skilled man power, the indigenous silk industry and its niche product for centuries ‘Assam Silk’ is today struggling to survive.

Ostensibly the problem seems to be market oriented where the demand for Assam silk is diminishing because it is costlier in comparison to the silk from outside the State, particularly Varanasi (Banaras). But this is misleading because cost wise there is not much difference in the price of the fabrics produced in any of the noted silk manufacturing centers of India including  Sualkuchi where the fabrics are woven out of natural silk yarns. It is only when fabrics are woven out of natural silk  yarns blended with cheap imported Chinese silk or artificial/synthetic silk yarns that a significant difference in the cost of the fabric occurs. Taking undue advantage of this cost difference and the customers’ ignorance unscrupulous traders have been indulging in profiteering by passing off  blended products as pure silk fabrics. The worst sufferers of this duplicity are the silk weavers who for survival are forced to make distress sales of their genuine products at throwaway prices to the bulk buyers/mahajans who have a stranglehold  in the market. This was the root cause of the recent disturbances in the silk town of Sualkuchi. Therefore the threat to Assam silk is not from Banarasi silk but from duplicate silk fabrics being sold as real silk, a trend which is not confined only to Assam. In reality there is a growing demand for all the varieties of Assam silk in the domestic, national and international markets.

For instance the demand for muga, a monopoly of Assam, has been growing with its increasing popularity in India and abroad. It is now a high end fashion fabric commanding premium prices. The market for eri, another exclusive silk of Assam, which was earlier restricted because of its poor quality and limited uses has also grown with improved technology appreciably upgrading the quality. Today eri is one of the most economic and durable silk fabrics with multiple uses. Its excellent thermal properties and  suitability for blending with wool has also made it a popular fabric for the colder climes in India and abroad. Moreover eri is the only natural silk that does not involve the killing of a living organism as it is not extracted from larvae. It is therefore preferred all over the world by Buddhists  and conservationists. Even though Mulberry Silk is not exclusive to Assam it is in demand among the connoisseurs of Assam “paat”  because of its unique texture. Unfortunately the indigenous silk industry has not been able to exploit this market potential because of which it is in the doldrums.

A deficient production because of a shortage of silk yarns is the main reason for the inability to meet the growing demand. Against a total domestic demand for silk yarns of 26,000 tons (MT) the country produces only 18,370 MT. The shortfall is made up by imports from China and the less expensive synthetic silk yarns from Japan and Italy. The problem has been further aggravated by the decline in the production of Mulberry Silk, the most widely used natural  silk, in Karnataka. Karnataka  which is the biggest producer of Mulberry Silk in the country has seen a steady decline in its area of mulberry cultivation because of rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and a shortage of agricultural labour. Consequently prices of Mulberry Silk yarns have been skyrocketing and Assam which is heavily dependent on Mysore Silk yarns for its production has been caught in this vicious cycle of decreasing supplies and increasing prices.

The only way to salvage the situation is to increase the State’s own production of silk yarns. In the long run this will curtail the dependence on imported yarns, ensure regular supply of yarns to the local weavers at reasonable rates and make the finished products more price competitive. Fortunately unlike Karnataka the basic parameters for sericulture in the State are still favourable. The climate is still suitable for silk rearing, the cultivable areas are still untouched by urbanisation or industrialisation and a sizeable section of the rural population is still involved in rearing and weaving. At present almost 20,000 hectares of land are in use for muga, mulberry and eri cultivation involving 2.6 lakh families in more than 10,000 villages of the State. While according to the 2012/2013 Economic Survey Report of Assam the State has 13 lakh handlooms which provide direct and indirect employment to around 25 lakh people. Utilised properly this dormant potential can transform the rural economy of Assam.

Even though every year both the State and Central governments initiate numerous schemes and spend huge amounts for the development of sericulture and weaving, the results have been disappointing. In 2011/2012 Assam produced a total of 2109 MT of raw silk  as follows: Eri- 1976 MT, Muga– 115 MT and Mulberry-18 MT. However the efforts have been grossly inadequate given the magnitude and gravity of the problem. Compare this to the fact that Assam had recorded a muga production of 95 MT way back in 1957. Or  Karnataka’s production of almost 10,000 MT of Mulberry Silk annually. Or  new entrant  Andhra Pradesh’s annual output of  Mulberry Silk of  4,500 MT. Perhaps the enormity of the situation may be better understood from the fact that Sualkuchi alone has a yearly requirement of 2,000 MT and 98 MT of mulberry and muga silk yarns respectively. Therefore all out efforts are needed to increase the output of silk yarns, particularly mulberry and muga, in the State.

For a start the entire sericulture and weaving sector must be better organised  and streamlined from the grass-roots to the showroom so that the scope for the exploitation of farmers and weavers by middle men is removed. Some measures which can make a significant difference are: increasing the acreage under sericulture, establishing modern infrastructure for sericulture and weaving, supply of quality seeds and feeds for silk worms, regular lab to field projects to educate farmers and weavers on scientific methods and new technology to improve quality and boost outputs, frequent grass roots level awareness programmes about government schemes and funds with a single window service   to avail these facilities, soft loans to farmers and weavers from banks to undertake schemes, etc. These are some long term initiatives which if implemented properly can yield permanent results.

 Agitations by beleaguered weavers for supply of subsidised yarns and free electricity, procurement of finished products at remunerative prices by government agencies, banning of silk fabrics from outside, etc. are short terms measures that may provide temporary relief  but will permanently cripple the indigenous silk industry as a whole. In the era of globalisation and an open market economy the leitmotif should be more production and not more protection. To save Assam silk, perhaps Assam needs a sericulture revolution involving small silk growers just like the small growers revolution in tea.