Carpets exports grow by 7 per cent in May

NEW DELHI: Carpets exports increased 7 per cent to $73 million in May year-on-year, on account of rising demand from emerging markets like China and Latin America.

The exports stood at $68 million in May last fiscal, according to the Carpet Export Promotion Council ( CEPC) figures.

"We had a good number of orders not only from traditional markets like Europe and the US, but also from new markets like China, Middle East and Latin America," a CEPC official said.

Of the country's total carpets exports, Europe accounts for 40 per cent, the US 30 per cent, Middle East 20 per cent and Latin America 10 per cent.

During April-May, 2011, the carpets exports grew by 13 per cent to $129 million compared to the same period last fiscal.

Among the categories, which have registered maximum growth are synthetic carpets, which grew by 25 per cent, followed by handmade woollen tufted carpets 12.4 per cent and handmade silk carpets 11 per cent.

The carpets exports sector employs 2.5 million people. The council expects the carpets exports to grow by 25 per cent in 2011-12 compared to the last fiscal.

These exports jumped 24 per cent to $653 million in 2010-11 compared to the previous fiscal.