Shell out more for Kanchipurams silk sarees

CHENNAI: Prepare to pay more for silks this wedding season, and expect a price shock if you are in the market for a Kanchipuram silk saree. As prices of raw silk and silver have shot up, sellers are considering when, not whether, to hike prices.

“A minimum 15% increase is certain,” said Rm K Sivakumar, owner of RmKV Silks. “We are unable to keep the prices at their current level,” confirmed Kuppuswamy Chetty of Nalli Silks, one of the oldest retailers of silk sarees in Tamil Nadu.

In Kanchipuram, a temple town 75km from Chennai renowned for its silk saris, weavers have already told traders about the imminent price hike. The Kanchipuram saree, like Champagne, is protected by a ‘geographical indication’— no other place can claim to produce a Kanchipuram — and it is a must at
every south Indian wedding. It is also among the costliest silks because a lot of silver goes into making its zari (brocade) patterns and borders.

Silver prices have risen by 29% in last one tear. On Wednesday, it closed at Rs 47,000 a kg. The brocade thread contains 52% silver, a bit of gold and cheaper metals like copper and aluminium. Each wedding sari requires at least 2 marc (a weavers’ measure roughly equal to 242g).

“Only Kanchipuram and Arni silk saris use silver, therefore the price increase will be mainly in these two categories,” said Chetty. For Banaras and Mysore silks, the increase will be on account of silk prices which have risen by about 30%.

“Raw silk prices have risen from Rs 2,600 a kg to Rs 3,400 over the past couple of months. Wages have also risen by more than 40% in three years,” said Sivakumar. While the weavers wanted prices raised immediately, retailers are worried as sales have been slow for the past few months. “We have never seen this prolonged lull in sales. It baffles us. We hope it will turn around by August,” Chetty said.

As the Aadi or Shravan month between July 15 and August 15 is considered inauspicious for wedding purchases in the south, the price rise will probably be effected in August. “Silver and silk prices on the rise are a double blow for us. When we ask the suppliers of silver thread, they say they are increasing the labour strength and trying to jack up thread production. They are also delaying delivery. While earlier we would get silver threads within a week, now it takes 10-12 days. Till now, we have refrained from increasing the price of the saree. However, if this continues for another month, we will be forced to hike prices.,” said Prakash Radhakrishnan, a weaver in Kanchipuram.