Tanter sari losing out to cheap import

Many traditional sari weavers are switching to other professions as handloom owners in Sirajganj -- renowned for its affordable handwoven saris, known as ‘tanter sari’ -- are being forced to put a significant number of handlooms out of operation. 

Dwindling demand, rising cost of production and competition from cheaper imported saris are several of the reasons behind the problem, said loom owners in Shahzadpur upazila.

Weaving factory owner Abul Kalam Azad of Rooppur village in the upazila has 50 sets of handlooms.

Another handloom factory in the area. Photo: Star

Last Eid-ul-fitr was the only time of the entire year when he could engage 30 of the looms to cater to an increased demand for saris.    

Lately, this has been the only time of the year when he can operate more than half of the handlooms in his factory, Azad said.

Weavers in Sirajganj and neighbouring Pabna, a region that supplies nearly 70 percent of the country’s handwoven saris and lungis (a piece of cloth worn by men around the waist), are faced with the situation in recent times.

Almas Ansari, vice president of Sirajganj handloom and power loom association, said, “Various problems over the last few years have forced more than 60 percent of handlooms and power looms in Pabna and Sirajganj to go out of operation. Out of a total 6 to 7 lakh looms in 10 upazilas of the two districts, only 3 to 3.5 lakh looms are now operational.”

“Eight to 10 years ago, I used to sell 25 to 30 thousand pieces of saris every week, when all my looms were in operation. Sometimes I even hired several smaller handloom factories. But now, I can only sell around 20 thousand pieces of saris in an entire month -- nearly 60 percent drop in production.”

Availability of cheaper foreign saris has brought the demand down for the items that are made in local handlooms, resulting in shutting down of many looms in many factories, he added.

Shafikul Islam, owner of a smaller factory near Azad’s, said five months ago, losses forced him to close his factory with 10 looms. 

Targeting to sell 800 to 1,000 pieces of saris, he reopened the factory and put four looms in operation prior to last Eid, when the demand for saris usually rises. However, he said he could not resume full operation due to a shortage of weavers as well as funds.

Rising prices of raw materials, especially thread for weaving, are adding to the problem, said many factory owners.

Local products made with pricier raw materials cannot compete with cheaper foreign products available in the market, said Jewel Rana, another handloom factory owner in Shahzadpur.

With factory owners increasingly trying to make cutbacks as a means to survive in the competition, daily wage of weavers continues to lag behind that of any other craft or trade, said a number of weavers while speaking with this correspondent.  

Average daily wage of a sari weaver now ranges from Tk 250 to 350, depending on how many saris are weaved, said handloom weaver Mukul Sarkar.

Because of this unreasonably low daily wage, many weavers are leaving the profession that they inherited from their ancestors, he also said.

Even after producing five to six saris on a power loom, a worker’s average daily wage could be as high as only Tk 350 to Tk 450, said Shukur Ali, an experienced power loom worker.     “Workers in other professions easily make Tk 600 to 700 a day -- one of the main reasons why many weavers are leaving their inherited profession,” he said, adding that it was too late for him to learn another trade and therefore his fate is sealed with this low-paying profession.