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Event News
Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair 2015
New Delhi, India16-18 April 2015
Serving The World Market

The 39th Indian Handicrafts
and Gifts Fair was held
held in New Delhi, India.
After agriculture, the crafts
sector, a huge cottage
industry, is the secondhighest
contributor to the
vast country’s GDP
According to reports,
Indian officials said 7 million artisans, who were registered with
the country’s Export Promotion Council, contributed $4.5 billion
(R52bn) to its economy each year in exports.
At the fair, 2 500 export agents spent the three days negotiating
deals with 4 500 agents and buyers from 60 countries. The highest
number of buyers was from the US (469), followed by Germany
(215) and the UK (230). There were also 72 South African buyers.
Sunita Anand, spokesman for the event, said India was making a
focused effort to increase trade to Brazil, India, China and South
Africa - the Brics partnership. Incentives included duty exemption
for the export of handicrafts offered to exporters which, Anand
said, had resulted in massive growth in the industry.
To contextualise the magnitude of the event, trade was carried out
in three storeys of small shops divided into 12 halls in a building
about three times the size of Durban’s International Convention
Centre. Trade was brisk and, despite stallholders saying business
was slightly down this year because of conditions in the world
economy, they were more than satisfied with the business they
had concluded.
In an interview published in the fair publication, Vivek Bhola,
the general manager for sales at the Mediterranean Shipping
Company South Africa said the goods at the fair were well suited
for developed countries. He said, however, if the industry were to
expand further, exporters would have to adhere more strictly to
timelines and keep innovating their products.
Rakesh Kumar, executive director of India’s Export Promotion
Council for Handicrafts, said the legacy left by Mahatma Gandhi
and social activist Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay, who promoted
village crafts to prevent the starvation of millions of displaced
people after independence from the British in 1947, had grown
into a serious and strategic economic driver for the region.
He said the industry gave India an advantage over its major
export competitor, China, as the goods were made by hand rather
than mass-produced. The quality as a result was also of a better
standard than items mass-produced by the Chinese.
Kumar said the economy of scale in the industry also gave the
country an edge over any competitors in the market.
“At least 26% of the exports go to the US and Canada with 34%
destined for the European Union.”
Kumar said programmes to increase the industry even further were
particularly focused on those who lived below the poverty line.
At least 47% of the production of the goods was undertaken by
women in rural villages.
Crafts exhibited at the fair included traditional Indian fabrics and
objets d’art, often seen in shops in South Africa. However, high-end
household goods such as lighting, jewellery, bedding, furniture,
carpets and household decor, particularly Christmas decorations,
were more evident and clearly in huge demand.
Anand said there was a major drive to diversify the range for export
to satisfy demand from the main importers. “We are also taking the
fair to other countries. To date we have held 35 fairs for fashion and
jewellery worldwide.”
With a population of more than a billion and a high level of poverty,
particularly in rural areas, Kumar said registering more village
crafters was critical, particularly as they stood to benefit from
government services such as free schooling, health care and other
support services once they were under the auspices of the council.
Benefits for artisans who registered included free schooling and
medical care.
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