Handicraft Exports Set To Cross Rs 4,300-Cr Mark

Even as major export sectors have failed to achieve requisite growth target during the current fiscal, Indian handicraft carved a niche in the export market by registering nearly 18 per cent growth.

While Indias average export growth this year is unlikely to cross seven per cent, handicraft exports, which have improved growth every quarter, are expected to cross the target of Rs 4,300 cr this fiscal against Rs 3,500 last year.

Encouraged by the success, the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) proposes to more than double the annual exports to exceed Rs 10,000 crore by the turn of the century, council president Navratan Samradia said yesterday.

 

The council regretted the governments apathy towards the sector despite the impressive growth as it had failed to address some pressing issues which came in the way of further stepping up exports.

We are not able to cash in on the existing opportunities in the global market for handicrafts mainly due to infrastructural bottlenecks, Samradia said.

The EPCH was highlighting its problem at the three-day Fifth Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair, which began here on Sunday. The fair, in which over 800 handicraft exporters are showcasing their wares, attracted over 2,200 overseas buyers until noon

Samdaria said irregular power supply, irregular raw material availability, lack of sub-centres at important craft centres and rail connectivity to these centres besides inadequate customs and appraisal facilities were the main impediments in improving handicraft exports.

Chinas share in the global handicraft market is 14 per cent, while Indias is just 1.6 per cent. We can improve the share substantially if the bottlenecks are removed, he said. Lack of clear guidelines on out workers, who make their products outside and bring it to exporters was also hurting the sector.

We had urged the government to exempt the handicraft sector from labour laws just as the cottage sector, but nothing has happened, he said.