During the period between April 2011 and March 2012, there was a significant drop in the prices of cocoons in various cocoon markets from about Rs.275/- per Kg. to about Rs.175/- per kg as a result of reduction in prices of raw silk in the domestic market. However, prices improved in the recent months and cocoon prices have gone up to about Rs.220/- per Kg.

The Government has taken steps to improve productivity of cocoons and raw silk, strengthen the extension support to the farmers and develop improved seeds and host plants. Government has also permitted import of modern Automatic Reeling machines and Dupion Reeling machines alongwith their accessories and packages at concessional duty of customs to bring down cost of production, and make the sericulture and reeling sector competitive.

The estimated demand-supply gap of silk in the country in last 5 years is given below:

(p) Provisional

The demand supply gap of raw silk is being met through imports, mainly from China.

The Government envisages enhancing domestic production of silk through strengthening the existing programme, i.e. Centrally Sponsored “Catalytic Development Programme” (CDP), being implemented by the Government through Central Silk Board (CSB), for development of sericulture and silk industry.

Central Silk Board has a proposal to establish an “Institute for Silk and Biomaterial Technology” within the CSB Campus at Kodathi in Bangalore, in collaboration with Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology. CSB has taken up the proposal with the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and has identified the land for the above.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Panabaaka Lakshmi  in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

DS/GK