According to an official from the Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts (EPCH), handicraft exports from India witnessed a steep plunge of about 50 percent since the year 2006-07, the year when exports of handicrafts stood at $3811.26 million.
However, in the fiscal 2009-10 these exports dropped down steeply to $1830.23 million, recording a fall of 49.57 percent. Handicraft market of the country is in tight spot, since global financial crisis, as the demand for handicraft items decreased widely from US and European markets, said EPCH Executive Director, Rakesh Kumar.
Therefore, handicraft exporters of the country are looking for alternative markets such as South America, South Africa, Chile to diversify and perk up their businesses as demand for handicrafts is good in these countries, informed Kumar, further adding that, these destinations have the potential, which was not tapped and explored earlier.
The small and medium enterprises, which are the key enterprises of country's handicraft sector, have been experiencing negative business growth since year 2007, due to the drastic impact of global financial crisis, he said.
In the year 2007-08, handicrafts export decreased by 8.66 percent and in 2008-09 it again tumbled down by 48.35 percent. However, during 2009-10, these exports witnessed a meager increase of 1.8 percent.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India
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