El Niño pushes sericulture into crisis

COIMBATORE: A prolonged rain deficit attributed to the El Niño effect has pushed the sericulture sector into a crisis, with cocoon production plunging, mulberry acreage shrinking by more than half and prices soaring amid dwindling arrivals at the Government Cocoon Market in Coimbatore.

From an average of up to 1.5 tonnes, daily arrivals at the Government Cocoon Market in Coimbatore have declined by 30 per cent to 40 per cent over the past three months following the steep decline in cocoon production, said an official of the sericulture department.

The shortage of cocoons has triggered a sharp increase in prices. The price touched Rs 820 to Rs 850 a kg at the auction market last week before easing slightly to around Rs 750 a kg in the past few days. Tamil Nadu has around 18 government cocoon markets.

Farmers said adverse climatic conditions had also caused a drastic contraction in mulberry cultivation, which is the backbone of sericulture.

“The area under mulberry has declined from around 1,200 acres to nearly 500 acres, with several large farmers reducing their acreage amid drought-like conditions in Coimbatore. Even the recent rains did not bring much relief. The unseasonal showers instead triggered microbial diseases in mulberry plants, further affecting their growth and reducing yields,” said R Gunaseelan, a farmer from Annur, who had come to auction his cocoon produce in the market.

Mulberry cultivation, which had revived after a lull during the COVID-19 pandemic, has once again plunged into a severe crisis, say farmers. Sixty-year-old R Karuppusamy, a sericulture farmer from Sevvur near Avinashi in Tiruppur district, said the worsening groundwater situation had compounded the crisis. The water level in his borewell, which was around 500 feet last year, has now fallen to nearly 1,000 feet.

“Earlier, I used to get around one kg of cocoons from one disease-free laying (DFL). But due to high temperatures, the yield has fallen to around 600 grams. With 75 DFLs, I now get only about 45 kg of cocoons, which is very low,” he said.

Karuppusamy resumed cocoon production a few years ago after staying away from sericulture for nearly three decades, hoping to benefit from better prospects in the sector.

SICK SILK

30 to 40% is the fall in cocoon arrivals in the last three months from around 1.5 tonnes

Rs 750 per kg is the current cocoon price after touching Rs 820 to Rs 850 per kilogram

1,200 acres was the area in which mulberry was cultivated, which has fallen to just 500 acres now

Drought-like conditions have forced farmers to cut acreage of cultivation though there was slight revival after COVID-19

One DFL now yields only around 600g of cocoons