Handicrafts exports will regain the lost ground, Textiles Minister
16 Dec '09
2 min read
The Government has launched Handicraft Mega Clusters at Moradabad and Narsapur to provide a comprehensive range of services in these clusters to make handicrafts products more innovative and export friendly. In coming days, clusters like Mysore, Channapatna, Saharanpur, Jodhpur and Jaipur will also be taken up for holistic development.
Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran stated this , while addressing the handicrafts exporters at the 16th Export Award presentation function organized by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts(EPCH) in the presence of Tmt. Panabaaka Lakshmi, Minister of State for Textiles.
The Textiles Minister said that the Government is establishing Common Facility Centres(CFCs) at 25 identified clusters to provide full range of services like design support, technology support, materials inputs and marketing linkages to artisans. It is imperative that products of Handicrafts clusters and Towns with handicraft traditions should be given publicity and Buyer-Seller meets, mega shows should be organized to showcase the products. As a part of this imitative, the first mega festival is being planned at Jodhpur in March 2010.
While giving an overview of the stimulus packages announced by the Government as well as measures taken in the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 to boost handicraft exports, Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran directed EPCH to make an appraisal of these initiatives and prepare an action plan to reverse the declining trend in handicrafts exports. He told the export community to innovate and explore new markets as 60% of handicrafts exports are concentrated in four countries namely in the USA, UK, Germany and France. He impressed upon the exporters to adopt E-commerce to cut down the transaction cost and develop new clientele.
Expressing optimism, Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran said that this financial year handicrafts exports will regain the lost ground and declining trend will be reversed. The handicrafts exports reached a peak figure of Rs. 20,963 crore in 2006-07, and declined to Rs. 10,892 crore in 2008-09, which was a fall of 48% on year on year basis. This fall was mainly due to recessionary conditions in developed market appreciation of rupee, credit and rising inputs prices, he added.
On the occasion , Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran gave away awards to 166 handicraft exporters, and launched Indian Handicrafts Design Bank Portal.
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