DHARMAPURI: Sericulturists from Dharmapuri have been hit hard due to the foggy weather condition which has led to a disruption in supply chains, in turn leading to a hike in silk cocoon prices.
As Dharmapuri is one of the largest silk cocoon producers in the region, around 750 acres are dedicated to mulberry cultivation. On average around 17 lakh tonnes of silk cocoon trade is primarily conducted at the market in four roads junction of the district. However, over the past few weeks, the price of cocoons has been drastically increasing due to poor climatic conditions caused by the fog across the district.
On Saturday, the district recorded its highest auction price at Rs 857 per kg with an average price of Rs 520 per kg.
M G Manivannan, a silk cocoon producer told TNIE, “The present situation of high prices might seem lucrative. However, if you look at the supply, the situation is worrisome. Right now the quality of silk will mostly be subpar because of the present climatic conditions. The recent fog rife with moisture has seeped into the cocoon. The lowest auction price was around Rs 520. In January the highest prices of cocoons were between Rs 670 and Rs 720 per kg.”
S Elango, another farmer, said, “The increasing moisture has led to mulberries drying out and whatever mulberry we feed the silkworm, has less nutrition and this directly impacts the quality of the cocoon. Further, the global price of silk has not increased significantly, so the problem with the supply chain is the reason for the hike.
When TNIE spoke to officials from the silk cocoon market, they said, “Over the past few weeks, we have had the lowest arrivals at 200kg. Usually, we get about 2.2 tonnes for auction. It was only on Friday and Saturday, we had decent arrivals. So the prices were high. This supply will increase in the upcoming weeks with the arrival of summer, as the fog will gradually reduce in the upcoming weeks.”