Indian handicraft exports surge in September

16 Oct '12

2 min read

Handicraft exports from India surged to US$ 130 million during September this year, posting a rise of 48 percent over exports worth US$ 87 million made during September last year, Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director of Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), the nodal agency for promotion of Indian handicrafts, informed media.

From April to September 2012, handicraft exports grew by 13.14 percent year-on-year to US$ 1.409 billion from US$ 1.245 billion achieved during the corresponding period of last year, he said.

The exports of shawls and artwares increased by 35.95 percent year-on-year during the first six months of the current fiscal.

EPCH Chairman Raj Kumar said factors like stabilizing US market, and a number of incentives extended by the Government by way of several schemes have played a part in boosting exports.

The rise is also because buyers have started turning their back to China due to high exchange rates, quality concerns and longer delivery times taken by China. Meanwhile, Indian handicraft industry has worked on quality improvement and design innovation, which too has benefited its global sales, he said.

However, the EPCH Chairman said they have yet not succeeded in achieving the pre-recession record level of Rs. 172.881 billion reached in 2006-07.

EPCH represents India in global market as a consistent supplier of premium quality handicraft items, he said, and added that they are positive of achieving Rs. 155 billion handicraft export target set for the current fiscal.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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