Cocoon transaction in all major markets in Karnataka, which accounts for around 60-70% of silk production in India, declined in the first half of the current fiscal, following decreased cocoon supply from Tamil Nadu.
Ramanagaram, Siddalagatta, Kolar, and Bangalore are major cocoon markets in Karnataka. The combined cocoon transaction in these four markets declined by 10% to 15,417 tonne in the first six months ending September 2007, from 17,143 tonne traded during the same period in 2006, according to latest statistics provided by the Central Silk Board (CSB). In Asia’s largest cocoon exchange in Ramanagaram, a tiny town in Karnataka, the cocoon transaction declined by 15% to 6,651 tonne in the first half of the current fiscal, from 7,796 tonne in the same period a year ago. In the other two exchanges in Siddalaghatta and Kolar, the cocoon transaction tumbled to 7,094 tonne and 1,670 tonne, from 7,609 tonne and 1,710 tonne respectively.
Earlier, due to inadequate silk yarn reeling units in their local areas, sericulture farmers in Tamil Nadu were forced to sell their cocoons in Karnataka for want of remunerative prices. But now, with more cocoon exchanges locally and by supporting the reeling sector, the TN government has been trying to utilise the entire cocoon within the state, restricting cocoon flow into neighbouring Karnataka. In fact, Tamil Nadu, where the raw silk production almost doubled to 750 tonne compared to two years ago, is in the process of establishing automatic silk reeling machines imported from China and Japan, to produce more raw silk, utilising the entire cocoon production in the state.
Even raw transaction also remained almost flat in silk exchanges in Karnataka. During April to September, the transaction of raw silk stood at 675 tonne, compared to 678 tonne in the same period last year.
