Fibre2fashion had recently published news on fake Chinese handicrafts sneaking in to the country at a great cost to the rural and poor handicrafts artisans in the country, with exports of these crafts increasing with each passing year.
Now the apex body for handicrafts exports from India, 'The Export Promotion Council for Handicraft' (EPCH) has demanded a ban on imports of fake handicrafts which has resulted in 100,000 job losses in the sector.
Chairman of EPCH, Mr Raj Kumar Malhotra said that while the sector which has seen a huge dip in exports is still to come out of the crisis, these fake imports are leading to more and more craftsmen losing their livelihood.
Imports of these fake handicrafts from China which stood at Rs 792.98 crore 2006-07 had jumped to Rs 1,040.03 crore in 2007-08, while figures for the previous fiscal were not available for the purpose of comparison.