Introduction
India, with the third-largest sheep population is the ninth-largest wool producer in the world. The wool production of the country in 2020-21 was 36.93 million kg. India produces three main categories of wool including carpet grade, coarser grade and apparel grade. These categories make up 85%, 10% and 5% of the total production for 2020-21 respectively.
Following are the major producing states with 2020-21 production amounts:
Rajasthan (15.68 million kg), Jammu and Kashmir (7.65 million kg), Telangana (3.37 million kg), Gujarat (2 million kg), Maharashtra (1.55 million kg), Himachal Pradesh (1.48 million kg), Karnataka (1.05 million kg), Uttar Pradesh (0.89 million kg), West Bengal (0.76 million kg) and Haryana (0.69 million kg)
Wool Exports Trends
The value of woolen items exported increased by 4% to US$ 1.64 billion in 2020-21 from US$ 1.57 billion in 2019-20. During 2020-21, India exported wool carpets worth US$ 1.43 billion. In the same year, the value of ready-made garments and woolen yarn exports were US$ 104.56 million and US$ 105.66 million respectively.
Major Importers
India exports woolen yarn fabrics, hand-made carpets and readymade garments to Italy, Korea, the UK, the US, Sri Lanka, Germany, Australia, UAE, Sweden, Netherland, Oman, Afghanistan, and Tanzania. The US is a major importer of woolen products from India with 2020-21 exports at US$ 855 million. The UK and Germany are the two large importers with 2020-21 exports valued at US$ 81 million and US$ 97.5 million.
The value of exports to UAE, Sweden and Netherlands for the year 2020-21 was US$ 38.5 million, US$ 32.9 million and US$ 34 million respectively.
Government Initiatives
The Central Wool Development Board (CWDB) allocated Rs. 112 crore (US$ 14.74 million) for the development of the wool industry in India as part of a five-year plan from 2017-18 to 2020-21. This initiative was aimed at the holistic development of the wool sector.
The Ministry of Textiles formulated an Integrated Wool Development Programme (IWDP) to improve the competitiveness and to improve the quality of woolen products in India. Under this scheme, the ministry has allocated Rs. 126 crore (US$ 1.66 million) for the years 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Governing Bodies
Ministry of Textiles
The Ministry of Textile is the Indian government’s national agency dedicated to planning, policy and regulations, development and promotion of the textile industry in the country. The apex body for textile has many statutory bodies, export promotion councils, autonomous bodies, research associations and registered societies associated with it.
The principal functional areas of the Ministry of Textile are, textile policy and coordination, cotton textile industry, jute industry, wool & woolen industry, export promotion, planning and economic analysis, financial matters and information technology.
Central Wool Development Board (CWDB)
Established in 1987, the CWDB was formed to harmonize various diversified interests among different sectors of the wool industry for integrated policy development of the industry.
The responsibilities of the board are wool and woolen industry development, marketing intelligence and products, price stabilization, testing of wool and woolens, product development and mainly advising the government in the matters of policy formations and coordination.
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