A Study on the Price Behavior of Cocoon and Raw Silk in Tamil Nadu

The success of sericulture industry is mainly based on proper and highly efficient marketing which assures good prices to the farmers. Efficient marketing helps in minimizing wide fluctuations in cocoon prices. It is found that fluctuations are due to variations in cocoon quality, absence of quality control, intervention of middlemen and poor marketing facilities. The prices paid to the cocoons continue to hover around within a narrow range, despite the award of prices to different grades of cocoons through bidding in an open auction. Women are preferred because of their nature, patience and hard work and hence they are employed in mulberry garden or silkworm rearing in a grainage or weaving center, etc. However, their work has not always been recognized or rewarded. Though sericulture is lucrative by nature, it faces various problems in aspects of cultivation and marketing. The problems faced by sericulturists mainly relate to insufficient financial support from government agencies, climatic hazards, wide fluctuations in cocoon prices and also, to some extent, inadequacy of extension services. This study reveals problems like rearing sheds, lack of awareness, low literacy level, poor infrastructure, etc. The availability of cocoon throughout the year can ensure the extension agency and the rearer of regular buyers in the market a better price. The better price received by the silk worm farmers is the major reason for the high profitability of the enterprise. On the basis of the findings of the present study, various recommendations have been offered. If these recommendations are followed properly, it will pave the way for increased production of mulberry cocoons, leading to an increase in foreign exchange earnings, besides giving a larger employment opportunity to the farm families, silk yarn reeling silk weavers and the like in the silk industry.