India's Trade in Silk

Silk, the Queen of textiles, is a luxury and eco-friendly fibre. India is the second largest producer of silk in the world. With a long history of production, a strong tradition bound domestic market and trade of silk with its own weave and texture, Indian silk is very popular all over the world. The growth in the exports of Indian silk goods in the last four decades has been phenomenal. The Indian silk industry has been passing through a crucial phase of reorientation and adjustment necessitated by the domestic as well as international market forces. With the implementation of WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, the global trade pattern of textiles and clothing has been changing in the last two decades. These developments have though opened up new vistas of growth, raised the question of competitiveness of Indian silk goods. This book examines the current trend, structure and competitiveness of exports of Indian silk goods in the wake of liberalized international trade.