Exports of silk and silk goods dropped by 16% during the fiscal year ending March 21 due to a decline in demand from Europe and the United States, India’s main markets.
Total silk exports in 2020-21 were ₹ 1,466.60 crore, compared to ₹ 1,745.65 crore in 2019-20. Silk fabrics and made-ups, which account for a sizable portion of silk goods exports, went down by 26% to ₹ 729.50 crore in 2020-21, down from ₹ 982.91 crore in the previous year.
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Likewise, silk readymade garments (RMG) did fall by approximately 11% during the year. Silk RMG exports were ₹ 449.56 crore in 2020-21, down from ₹ 504.23 crore the previous year.
The covid effect
The downward trend in silk fabrics, made-ups, and RMGs are primarily due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in key importing regions such as Europe and the United States.
During the pandemic, buyers avoided silk products, which are considered a luxury. Aside from lower demand, the logistics issues that arose during the pandemic also had an impact on shipments.
Even when exports of silk fabrics, made-ups, and RMGs tumbled, shipments of raw silk, natural silk yarn, and silk waste continued to increase during the same period.
Silk waste shipments increased by 53% year over year to ₹ 150.61 crore, up from ₹ 98.31 crore in the same time frame last year. Likewise, natural yarn exports increased by around 79% to ₹ 27.93 crore in 2020-21, up from ₹ 15.62 crore the previous year.
Natural yarn exports increased by 23.34 percent to 1.43 crore from 1.15 crore previously.
The Parliament was recently informed that the exports of silk goods in April of the current fiscal year totaled ₹ 112.13 crore. Domestic silk production has decreased in recent years.
According to preliminary estimates, silk production will be down 5.5% in 2020-21, at 23,860 tonnes, compared to 25,239 tonnes in 2019-20 and 25,345 tonnes in 2018-19.
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After China, India is the world’s second-largest producer of silk. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, and Jharkhand are among the country’s major producers.
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