India’s Wool Sector

India’s Wool Sector

Part of: Prelims and GS – III – Employment 

In news Amid the rising demand of import of wool, shepherds in Uttarakhand will get a batch of lambs through crossbreeding of sheep indigenous to the region with Australian Merino sheep by the end of the year.

• Australian Merino sheep are known to have the softest and finest wool used for apparels.
• The main trigger for import was the deteriorating quality and quantity of carpet and apparel grades wool, largely due to inbreeding.

wool sector in India

• India is the seventh-largest producer of wool and accounts for nearly 2 to 3% of total world production.
• India has the third largest sheep population in the world with over 64 million sheep. The annual wool production is in the range of 43-46 million kg.
• Due to the 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.
• Rajasthan is the largest wool producer and is known for its superior carpet grade Chokla and Magra wool.
  • Carpet grade is rougher than apparel grade and accounts for 85% of India’s production.
• Apparel grade wool accounts for less than 5% of production and coarse grade fit for making rough blankets accounts for the rest.
• Significance:
  • The wool textile industry provides employment to 2.7 million workers – 1.2 million in the organised sector, 1.2 million in sheep rearing and farming, and 0.3 million weavers in the carpet sector.

News source: TH