Demand from Online Sellers Seen Revitalizing Handicrafts Exports

The handicraft industry experienced a significant fall down this year due to the outbreak of Pandemic Coronavirus. Many employees went, and a country-wide lockdown resulted in the shutdown of many factories. 

From the past three months, the handicraft industry has seen a revival with the sudden spurt in the orders from online sellers. Pandemic has rewritten the rules of e-commerce, and online sellers have resumed their business with the new sales and offers for the Indian festival season. The sales are expected to continue beyond the festive season. 

The festival season sales of online sellers favor the handicraft exports from India. Raj Kumar Malhotra, Gurgaon-based exporter, and VC of Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts, in a media interaction, said that most of the online sellers are looking for new stock, and this leads to demand from handicrafts.

Handicrafts are the critical elements for MSME sectors. It is the country’s backbone and accounts for the total of 20% of the country’s workforce. Rajasthan accounts for 20% of the country’s handicraft exports by clocking shipments worth Rs 5,000 crore annually. 

There is a growing demand for the handicraft market in the domestic and international markets. The major destinations of Indian handicrafts exports include US, Europe, South America, Africa, and China. 60% of the total handicraft exports go to the US and Europe. 

Some of the significant handicrafts items of India include house ware, home textiles, furniture, glassware, bamboo goods, fashion jewelry, lamp, and lighting.

Every year exporters work three months’ overtime for the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair, which takes bi-annually in the Spring and Autumn seasons. 

The export of the handicrafts fell sharp by 66 per cent when compared to the first quarter last fiscal. As per EPCH calculations, the decline in handicraft exports is about 35 percent during April-September 2020-21, but, surprisingly, the exports turned positive by about 7 percent from September.

The IHGF Autumn Fair from 4-9 November 2020 is the hallmark for the growth in the handicrafts sector. The fair spreads over 1,97,000 sq. meters with over 3,000 exhibitors. It will be a significant business platform for the importers, wholesalers, distributors, fashion designers, and mail order companies. 

To ensure the smooth progress of the handicrafts industry and provide a livelihood for millions of artisans and earn required foreign exchange, the logistic system needs to be improved more to compliment artisans' efforts. India’s Handicrafts industry is the backbone for skilled artisans and last to foresee any rival.