In a significant move, the sericulture ministers of the four major silk producing states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal – have demanded an increase in import duty on silk from its present rate of 20%.
Speaking to the media, the AP agriculture minister N Raghuveera Reddy said that there is an urgent need for the Union government to control imports, especially from China. “There is an urgent need for the government to take up certain duty corrections in order to support domestic silk farmers,” Reddy said. The ministers, who met here on Monday to take stock of the situation of the silk industry in the country, have decided to constitute an officers committee from all the four states headed by the principal secretary agriculture APS Challappa to study the problems of the silk industry and farmers and prepare an action report to be presented to the union textile ministry.
“We will submit the action report to the textile minister by August 15, 2008,” Reddy said.
The ministers have also expressed their fears over the problems being faced by the silk industry from smuggled silk products, mostly from China. They have demanded that the Union government has to take up the issue on a priority basis to curb the smuggled activity. Further, the ministers also demanded that the Centre has to announce minimum support price (MSP) for silk like any other agricultural produce.