BENGALURU: After nearly 20 years, silk yarn from Karnataka will bring shine to the famous Banaras silk sarees. The revived interest in silk from Karnataka is because of a Central government ban on Chinese products, including China silk. Weavers from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh are now looking at the raw material from Karnataka, which is known for producing quality silk.
As per data available with TNIE, the state has 1.38 lakh sericulture farmers, who raise cocoons, and 7,000 silk reelers, who make silk yarn from cocoons. The annual production of cocoon is 80,396 tonnes, while that of raw silk is 11,292 tonnes. Sources in the Sericulture Department said that between 1997 and 2002, Varanasi had the Karnataka Sericulture Marketing Board (KSMB), which used to annually sell 2,000 kg of finest silk from Karnataka.
State minister to meet UP counterpart
Farmers from Ramanagara and Shidlaghatta in Tumakuru are known to rear the best quality silk cocoons. But the marketing board was shut in 2002 as Varanai weavers started opting for cheaper silks from China. With the ban, Sericulture Minister Narayana Gowda is trying to push for Karnataka silk and is meeting his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Siddarth Nath Singh and other officials on Thursday.
“There was a memorandum of understanding between Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh that was renewed in 2012. However, the supply from Karnataka was less. With the ban, we hope to find a better market and increase the market base. The KSMB will be reopened,” the sources said.
Across India, there are 19 KSMB centres, including 16 in Karnataka, two in Tamil Nadu and one in UP which will be reopened. Narayana Gowda told TNIE that Karnataka now makes up for nearly 40 per cent of silk supplied to weavers in Varanasi. “We are meeting the concerned minister and other stakeholders in UP. Our silk cannot be priced as low as China silk,” he added.