Revival of India’s Wool Sector

In News

• Recently, an attempt has been made to revive India’s Wool sector by importing Australian Merino sheep for crossbreeding.

Import to India

• Import to boost pastoral economy: 
  • These lambs will be the first signs of success of an import exercise that the government resumed after 30 years, in 2019, with an aim to boost the pastoral economy and reduce the country’s import dependence for raw wool.
• Last crossbreeding import: 
  • The last import was of Rambouillet sheep from the US in 1993. Its purpose was crossbreeding, which happened to officials’ satisfaction; however, low survival rates of imported sheep and limited success in obtaining wool deterred further exercises.
• Measures taken to reduce mortality: 
  • This time, to lower mortality rates, import has been done from areas in Australia that have similar climates as our Himalayan states
• Under National Livestock Mission: 
  • Of the 860 Australian Merino sheep imported between December 2019 and February 2020 under the National Livestock Mission, Jammu and Kashmir has received 420, Uttarakhand 240 and Himachal Pradesh 200.
  • Plans are also underway to import sheep for Rajasthan, the country’s largest wool producer known for its superior carpet grade Chokla and Magra wool. 
  • Carpet grade is rougher than apparel grade and accounts for 85 per cent of India’s production.
  • Apparel grade wool accounts for less than five per cent of production and coarse grade fit for making rough blankets accounts for the rest. 

Main Reason for Import

• The main trigger for import was deteriorating quality and quantity of carpet and apparel grades, largely due to inbreeding.
• The import comes as a surprise as the country has the third-largest number of sheep in the world with 74.26 million sheep under 42 registered breeds, according to the 20th Livestock Census in 2019. This was a 14.1 per cent increase from the previous census in 2012.
• Due to this insufficient domestic production, India depends on imports for raw wool, particularly on Australia and New Zealand.
• This wool is then used to prepare products like carpets, yarn, fabrics and garments for the domestic market and for exporting, especially to the United States and Europe.

(Image Courtesy: DTE )

Challenges

• Shift in farmers’ focus:
  • Farmers have shifted their focus from wool to meat. 
  • While sheep numbers are on a decline in wool-producing states, they are rising in Deccan states.
  • Telangana promotes the meat-producing Nellore breed through a subsidised sheep distribution scheme and the breed now comprises 51 per cent of the state’s sheep.
  • Meat prices are high at Rs 400-500 per kg in local markets.
  • Since weight is key in finalising prices, shepherds often leave wool on to make the sheep look healthier. This wool is then either wasted or sold through unofficial channels.
• Pastoral land is decreasing: 
  • Pastures are diminishing across the country with the increase in plantations as well as urbanisation. 
  • In Rajasthan, grazing land fell from 1.7 million hectares (ha) in 2007-08 to 1.6 million ha in 2017-18, according to state agriculture department data.
  • Grazing lands are shrinking in other states as well. In Gujarat, the indigenous Patanwadi breed is now less preferred by herders as encroachment and industrialisation have reduced flat grazing resources and these sheep are not good climbers, notes the study by the Centre for Pastoralism.
• Newer generations not much interested in Shepherding:
  • Shearing wool is unlike any other work. The younger generation does not want to do this. You may not find many sheep in the next few years.
  • Shepherds are reluctant to adopt modern practices like machine shearing. 
    • Machine shearing takes only five minutes and increases the length of the fibre too, since it cuts neatly from the skin. 
    • But there is low awareness. Farmers feel their sheep will be hurt. 
    • The need for uninterrupted electricity supply is also a problem in rural areas.
• Inadequate pre and post loom processing facilities: 
  • The constraints faced by the wool sector are due to outdated and inadequate pre- and post-loom processing facilities, the ineffective role of state wool marketing organisations, the lack of an MSP system and no educational institute for wool technology.

Measures to boost pastoral economy

• Experts think imports and crossbreeding are unlikely to provide any respite to shepherds and traders. There are several factors India must focus on to boost its wool economy.
• Softer and finer quality of wool should be produced: 
  • The fact is indigenous wool has for decades suffered at the hands of machine-friendly long-staple wool (a cluster of the fibre of greater length) after India set up mechanised spinning mills in the 1970s and 1980s.
  • Around the late 1980s or early 1990s, import tariffs were lifted as India began importing long-staple wool from Australia, New Zealand and West Asia, especially for apparels as it was finer and softer than the brittle indigenous wool.
  • Now, there is no offtake of wool from Gujarat or the Deccan states because it is short-stapled.
• Import of Shear machines:
  • These machines are mostly imported and cost Rs 1-1.5 lakh. 
  • Even the blades and other parts are costly. 
  • The Union Ministry of Textiles and the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi have come up with a cheaper machine that will cost Rs 40,000-Rs 45,000, but it is still being tested.
  • Meanwhile, Uttarakhand has been promoting machine shearing for five-six years. Some 25 per cent farmers opt for this approach now, as against five per cent three years ago.
• Sheep care has not got the same attention as other agricultural activities:
  • The type of research and time needed in this sector has not been provided. 
  • There is a scope of better processing and marketing of wool, and even a minimum support price (MSP), like in crops.
  • There were no processing facilities or measures like washing, carding and grading which would have helped in its marketing. 

Way Ahead 

• The fact is most shepherds in the country rear sheep not by choice, but due to the lack of other options or because it is their traditional practice. 
• There is a need to make this sector lucrative by:
  • raising awareness, 
  • improving access to pasture lands, 
  • facilitating marketing of wool, 
  • offering remunerative prices, and 
  • upgrading the supply chain for herders who are on the bottom rung of the ladder.

Source: DTE