FBCCI president Abdul Matlub Ahmad said a target has been set to create silk market worth Tk 500 crore by 2017 and he will try hard to get Tk 100 crore bank loans to support the sector. “We are going to form a committee with the representatives from FBCCI, Ministry of Textiles and Jute, BTMA, Ministry of Commerce and other concerned sectors to this effect within three months,” said Ahmad at a seminar on ‘Export Potential of Silk of Bangladesh’ held at FBCCI Bhaban in the capital’s Motijheel yesterday. “We will go forward with all concerned people making a complete chain,” he added. “The traditional silk industry of the country has still lagged behind economically as the sector’s total market is limited to only Tk 7.5 crore,” said the FBCCI president. Mentioning that original silk has been replaced by synthetic duplicates, FBCCI president said if the silk growers came forward with quality silk products, FBCCI will create a big market for the growers to restore the silk heritage of Bangladesh. The country imports 486 tonnes of silk mostly from China every year as the local production of raw silk is only 24 metric tonnes against the demands of 510 tonnes, said Najmul Hossain, country representative of Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNF), referring to a report of FNF. Local production of silk meets only 4.7 per cent domestic demand, he added. Presenting the keynote paper, FNF country representative said, silk of Bangladesh holds huge potential in the global market and the market could be developed by both government and private sector initiatives. Allauddin Ahmed, president of Silk Manufacturer and Exporters’ Association of Bangladesh, said some measures should be taken to produce quality silk for export. The speakers at the programme sought pathway to revive the glorious past of the queen of textile. The main constraints of silk sector, they said, are–shortage of local mulberry production, old technology, poor advertising, inadequate capital and insufficient governmental facilities. Among others, Siddikur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Shafiul Islam, first vice president of FBCCI, Ayub Nabi, Pro VC of BGMEA university of Fashion and Technology, and Mahbubul Alam, vice president of FBCCI, spoke on the occasion. Speakers said silk production declined dramatically over 1995 due to increase of vat on imported silk, followed by devastating floods in 1998, while the sericulture industry in Bangladesh largely become a stagnant.
