Silk heritage

Under threat

The moribund state of silk production in Bangladesh is weaving a web of sorrow for silk-growers in the country. Ayesha Begum is the wife of the owner of a loss-making silk industrial unit of Rajshahi. Her voice choked with emotion, as she described to The Independent how her husband, Abul Hossain, had built up a silk mill by taking a bank loan 10 years ago.? The business was profitable in the beginning, but it deteriorated gradually. Eventually, they were forced to close down the factory in the face of ever-growing loss. To repay the bank loan, Ayesha's husband has no way but to go abroad with a job.
Ayesha Begum and Abul Hossain, however, are not alone in their misfortune. Many silk factory owners in the country have shut down their factories or shifted their business, in spite of having a large market at home and abroad, as the silk industry, once the pride of Bangladesh, has fallen on hard times. Industry insiders say shortage of local mulberry production, lack of cash flow and working capital, and poor advertising are the main challenges facing the industry. They also refer to some other problems plaguing the industry, including old technology, lack of government patronisation and faulty policies. The country's silk industry is now dependent on the imported yarn from China because locally produced silk can meet only 4.7 per cent of the domestic demand.
According to a report prepared by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNF), Bangladesh imports 486 tonnes of silk, mostly from China, every year, while local production of silk amounts to 24 metric tones against the demand of 510 tonnes.
India has emerged as the second largest producer of sericulture after China. Although Bangladesh shares the same soil and weather conditions, it is unable to produce the huge amount of silk produced by India. Mulberry cultivation in the entire country is now confined to only 8,000 hectares of land and the total market is limited to only Tk 7.5 crore. FBCCI president Abdul Matlub Ahmad recently said a target has been set to create a domestic silk market worth Tk 500 crore by 2017. He also said the FBCCI would try to arrange bank loans worth Tk 100 crore to support the sector. He further said if silk growers come forward with quality silk products, the FBCCI will create a big market for them to restore the silk heritage of Bangladesh. He expressed regret that synthetic duplicates are fast replacing the original silk. Ahmad said a boost in the production of local yarn can help bolster the export list and revitalise the silk sector to meet the existing domestic demand.
Around 600,000 people are currently involved in the country's silk industry and the number of handlooms is 3,000. The silk industry is mainly concerntrated in the country’s western and north-western regions. Rajshai and Chapai Nawabganj are the major production areas of sericulture.
 Earlier, there were 75 silk-producing units in Rajshahi’s BSCIC area, but only 14 are still in operation and only two or three out of them are involved in fabric production. When asked, Anisul Haque Bhuiyan, director general of Bangladesh Sericulture Unnayan Board, said an experimental project has been taken up to revive the factories. Some privately owned factories are also closing down due to continuous loss. As a result, many old factory owners are also winding up their factories.
Bangladesh Reshom Shilpa Owners’ Association president Liakat Ali said the government should come forward to save the silk industry. He pointed out that marginal silk farmers at the grass-roots level are not getting sufficient assistance and cooperation from the government. The government should come forward to assist silk farmers of the country the same way it extended assistance to potato farmers and pisciculturists, he added.
Silk commodities include wide range of things – silkworm, silk yarn, raw silk, silk waste, woven, silk waste, and silk fabric.
Saris and other products made out of silk are coveted by users in the country and abroad. Silk product is available as fabric in colours and patterns for designers. Silk fabric is also available in ranges for apparel and for other purposes.
There are some showrooms of famous silk products in the capital, including Rajshahi silk, Kori Silk and Doail Silk. A sales representative of one of the showrooms said, “Silk products are in demand, but customers in many cases cannot afford to purchase such products due to high price."
Sadar Ali, managing director of Sopura Silk Mills Limited, said although the silk sector has remained under the agriculture sector since 2005, there has been no cooperation from the government to revive the state of silk production. He alleged that public banks do not grant loans to silk factory-owners on easy terms and thus they are forced to take loans from private banks at high interest rates. This has set the silk industry on a wobbly and fragile platform, he added.
Ali said it is necessary to invent new varieties of mulberry plants to readjust with the changing climate.
Silk is made of proteins secreted in the fluid state by a caterpillar, which is known as ‘silkworm’. During its 3 to 8 day pupating period, the silkworm secretes fibroin, a sticky liquid protein, from its two sericteries (special salivary glands). Pushed through a spinneret (opening on the mouth), the twin pair of continuous threads harden when they come into contact with the air. Next, the silkworm secretes sericin, a bonding agent, from two other glands to hold the two filaments together.
Experts said the silk mills should increase the number of sales center and production, the advertising and other promotional expenditure to increase the market share and to retain the leading position in the market. The product line of the industry may remain same but some old design may be changed and attractable design would be introduced.
Silk production in Bangladesh remained an unrealised potential to the end of the last century. Production declined dramatically over 1995 due to further decrease of tariff on imported silk, followed by devastating floods in  1998, while the sericulture industry in Bangladesh largely become a stagnant. Private organisations continued producing silk merchandise, but largely depending on more reliable imported silk. In 1998, the government put into the Silk Development Project (SDP), within which Bangladesh Silk Foundation (BSF) was created to revive the silk sub-sector once again into a forward looking industry.

Silk heritage

Under threat

The moribund state of silk production in Bangladesh is weaving a web of sorrow for silk-growers in the country. Ayesha Begum is the wife of the owner of a loss-making silk industrial unit of Rajshahi. Her voice choked with emotion, as she described to The Independent how her husband, Abul Hossain, had built up a silk mill by taking a bank loan 10 years ago.? The business was profitable in the beginning, but it deteriorated gradually. Eventually, they were forced to close down the factory in the face of ever-growing loss. To repay the bank loan, Ayeshas husband has no way but to go abroad with a job. Ayesha Begum and Abul Hossain, however, are not alone in their misfortune. Many silk factory owners in the country have shut down their factories or shifted their business, in spite of having a large market at home and abroad, as the silk industry, once the pride of Bangladesh, has fallen on hard times. Industry insiders say shortage of local mulberry production, lack of cash flow and working capital, and poor advertising are the main challenges facing the industry. They also refer to some other problems plaguing the industry, including old technology, lack of government patronisation and faulty policies. The countrys silk industry is now dependent on the imported yarn from China because locally produced silk can meet only 4.7 per cent of the domestic demand. According to a report prepared by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fr die Freiheit (FNF), Bangladesh imports 486 tonnes of silk, mostly from China, every year, while local production of silk amounts to 24 metric tones against the demand of 510 tonnes. India has emerged as the second largest producer of sericulture after China. Although Bangladesh shares the same soil and weather conditions, it is unable to produce the huge amount of silk produced by India. Mulberry cultivation in the entire country is now confined to only 8,000 hectares of land and the total market is limited to only Tk 7.5 crore. FBCCI president Abdul Matlub Ahmad recently said a target has been set to create a domestic silk market worth Tk 500 crore by 2017. He also said the FBCCI would try to arrange bank loans worth Tk 100 crore to support the sector. He further said if silk growers come forward with quality silk products, the FBCCI will create a big market for them to restore the silk heritage of Bangladesh. He expressed regret that synthetic duplicates are fast replacing the original silk. Ahmad said a boost in the production of local yarn can help bolster the export list and revitalise the silk sector to meet the existing domestic demand. Around 600,000 people are currently involved in the countrys silk industry and the number of handlooms is 3,000. The silk industry is mainly concerntrated in the countrys western and north-western regions. Rajshai and Chapai Nawabganj are the major production areas of sericulture. Earlier, there were 75 silk-producing units in Rajshahis BSCIC area, but only 14 are still in operation and only two or three out of them are involved in fabric production. When asked, Anisul Haque Bhuiyan, director general of Bangladesh Sericulture Unnayan Board, said an experimental project has been taken up to revive the factories. Some privately owned factories are also closing down due to continuous loss. As a result, many old factory owners are also winding up their factories. Bangladesh Reshom Shilpa Owners Association president Liakat Ali said the government should come forward to save the silk industry. He pointed out that marginal silk farmers at the grass-roots level are not getting sufficient assistance and cooperation from the government. The government should come forward to assist silk farmers of the country the same way it extended assistance to potato farmers and pisciculturists, he added. Silk commodities include wide range of things silkworm, silk yarn, raw silk, silk waste, woven, silk waste, and silk fabric. Saris and other products made out of silk are coveted by users in the country and abroad. Silk product is available as fabric in colours and patterns for designers. Silk fabric is also available in ranges for apparel and for other purposes. There are some showrooms of famous silk products in the capital, including Rajshahi silk, Kori Silk and Doail Silk. A sales representative of one of the showrooms said, Silk products are in demand, but customers in many cases cannot afford to purchase such products due to high price. Sadar Ali, managing director of Sopura Silk Mills Limited, said although the silk sector has remained under the agriculture sector since 2005, there has been no cooperation from the government to revive the state of silk production. He alleged that public banks do not grant loans to silk factory-owners on easy terms and thus they are forced to take loans from private banks at high interest rates. This has set the silk industry on a wobbly and fragile platform, he added. Ali said it is necessary to invent new varieties of mulberry plants to readjust with the changing climate. Silk is made of proteins secreted in the fluid state by a caterpillar, which is known as silkworm. During its 3 to 8 day pupating period, the silkworm secretes fibroin, a sticky liquid protein, from its two sericteries (special salivary glands). Pushed through a spinneret (opening on the mouth), the twin pair of continuous threads harden when they come into contact with the air. Next, the silkworm secretes sericin, a bonding agent, from two other glands to hold the two filaments together. Experts said the silk mills should increase the number of sales center and production, the advertising and other promotional expenditure to increase the market share and to retain the leading position in the market. The product line of the industry may remain same but some old design may be changed and attractable design would be introduced. Silk production in Bangladesh remained an unrealised potential to the end of the last century. Production declined dramatically over 1995 due to further decrease of tariff on imported silk, followed by devastating floods in 1998, while the sericulture industry in Bangladesh largely become a stagnant. Private organisations continued producing silk merchandise, but largely depending on more reliable imported silk. In 1998, the government put into the Silk Development Project (SDP), within which Bangladesh Silk Foundation (BSF) was created to revive the silk sub-sector once again into a forward looking industry.