India's handicraft exports up 9 per cent in December

NEW DELHI: India's handicraft exports growth slowed to 9 per cent in December, 2011, after witnessing a peak of 32 per cent in October, with overseas shipments totalling just USD 338 million on account of less demand from US and European markets.

In December last year, India's exports stood at USD 309 million, according to data provided by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).

"The demand is sluggish in Western markets like Europe and the US due to fragile economic growth," an EPCH official said.

The US and European Union together account for 70 per cent of the country's handicraft exports.

The item that saw the maximum export growth was wood-ware (90 per cent), followed by shawls as art-ware (about 30 per cent) and imitation jewellery (22.5 per cent).

However, embroidered and crocheted goods registered negative growth of about 7 per cent.

During April-December, 2011, handicrafts exports went up by about 19 per cent to USD 1.7 billion from USD 1.4 billion in the same period last fiscal.

The handicrafts sector employs one million people. Moradabad, Jaipur, Saharanpur and Jodhpur are the major handicraft hubs in the country catering to global markets.