Rising price of imported yarn has posed a challenge to local silk manufacturers but offered an opportunity to increase local production of raw materials. Boosting production of local yarn can help revitalise the silk sector and regain its lost glory alongside meeting the local demand. Local consumption could be met with domestic outputs of silk after proper use of natural resources. The observations came at a daylong workshop styled “Boosting Quality Silk Yarn Production in Minifiliatures through addressing the existing problems” held at the conference hall of Bangladesh silk Development Board (BSDB) here on Sunday. Bangladesh Silk Foundation (BSF) and BSDB jointly organized the workshop discussing ways and means on how to boost the quality yarn to meet up the local demands. Director General of BSDB Anis-Ul Haque Bhuiyan and Managing Director of BSF Jahangir Hossain addressed the inaugural session as the chief and special guests respectively with Nasir Uddin, General Manager of BSF, in the chair. BSDB Member Serajul Islam, President of Bangladesh Silk Industry Owners Association Liakat Ali, Deputy Director of Regional Silk Extension Office Mofazzal Hossain and Technical Officer of Meergonj Minilifilature Center Abdul Jalil also spoke on the occasion. During his keynote presentation, Abu Taher Sarder, Deputy Chief Production and Marketing Officer of BSDB, highlighted various ways and means of substantial and sustainable production of silk yarn through the best uses of 12 minifilatures of BSDB. The discussants recommended that ways and means should be worked out how yarn production could be boosted through proper utilisation of the existing natural and other infrastructural resources. There is no alternative to raising domestic production of yarn to protect the sector. They opined that the sector needs an urgent initiative to retain the skilled labourers, especially the realers, weavers and printers, in the profession and thus protect the sector itself. Demand of local yarn has started increasing due to the price-hike of imported silk. It is expected that the cocoon rearers would become interested again in enhancing their production if they get reasonable price of their produce. “We have no alternative to revitilising the sector and protect its six lakh (600,000) people,” said silk industrialist Liakat Ali. He listed the growers should be provided with supports and inputs such as disinfectant eggs, high-yielding mulberry plants, technical support and soft loan for construction of rearing house along with ensuring sound marketing facilities.
