Carpet export slips 12% in 2009-10

NEW DELHI: India's carpet export declined by about 12 per cent to USD 525 million in 2009-10 compared to the previous fiscal mainly due to less demand from its major markets like the US and Europe.

"The demand for carpet exports from the US and European markets has not increased in the past few months," Carpet Export Promotion Council Chairman O P Garg said.

The US and EU together account for nearly 70 per cent of India's carpet exports. Recessionary demand from the West has forced the exporters to focus on new markets in countries like Russia, China, Dubai, Kuwait, Brazil and Australia.

"In the current fiscal, we are expecting 25 per cent growth in the exports compared to 2009-10, as the exporters are getting good response from emerging markets. Recently, the exporters have got orders worth about 10 million from Russia," he said.

Also, he added, China can be a potential market for Indian hand-made carpets, as it is now producing only machine-made carpets.

The carpets export started declining since October 2008 but managed to turn positive in November registering a growth of 18 per cent. The sector employs 2.5 million people.