The handicraft export industry in India, which is witnessing a sharp decline of 49% in the April-December 2008 period, is looking at ways to tap the domestic market.
The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), the apex body for export of handicrafts, is in talks with major retail players to sell handicraft items, hitherto meant for export only, in the huge domestic market.
Rakesh Kumar, executive director, EPCH, said that in the first three quarters of this fiscal, handicraft exports were pegged at $1,306 million, while the exports in the corresponding period of fiscal 2007-08 were recorded at $2,580 million.
?Till now, Indian exporters felt that their target buyer was the premium and affluent segment of people in the US and European Union countries. But now that a slump has hit these countries hard, we are trying to get the manufacturers to tap the huge potential that is available within the country itself. We are trying to encourage manufacturers to cut down on the prices of handicrafts to an affordable level without compromising on the quality and are also tying up with some big retail chains to get them to sell these items in their stores,? said RK Chaturvedi, joint secretary, government of India.
?Since Uttar Pradesh accounts for almost 50% of handicraft export and 40% of the total 70 lakh artisans hail from the state, the state?s loss has been phenomenal,? said Rakesh Kumar.
The EPCH is also looking at ways to explore markets other than the US and EU. ?Latin American and Middle East countries are also going to be tapped, as they have huge potential,? he said.