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bt exports

WITH ORDERS DWINDLING, MANY SMALL HANDICRAFTEXPORTERS ARE

being forced to wind up. And this in a sector that is the

largest employer in the economy after agriculture and textiles.

The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) reckons exp-

orts have shrunk by 60 per cent in the April-December period.

So have jobs: At least 5 lakh gone across major product cate-

gories like houseware, home textiles, carpets and fashion jewellery.

The worst-hit are segments like art metal ware and textile handi-

crafts with demand slump in key markets of Europe, US and

Canada, which account for 70 per cent of Indias handicraft exports.

Says Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director, EPCH: The problem is

that handicrafts are seen as non-necessity items and are first to be

hit by an economic slowdown. In particular, the downturn in the

housing market in US has taken a severe toll on handicraft exports.

Adds Navratan Samdria, a former president of the EPCH: Most of

the exporters are making losses and will find it difficult to survive.

Samdrias own company, Beauty Art India, an exporter of

wooden handicrafts and imitation jewellery, has almost stopped

production and laid off its entire team of 100 contract workers.

We are just not getting a ny orders. There is no option for

most exporters other than winding up operations, says Samdria,

who is also Chairman of the India Exposition Mart, which aims to

be a one-stop shop for Indian cottage industry products by

organising fairs and exhibitions in Greater Noida.

SNAPSHOT

HANDICRAFTS

Carpets Bombed

TOTAL EMPLOYMENT

7 millionM AJOR MARKETS

US, Europe &AustraliaGROWTH IN Q3, 2008-09

-60%ESTIMATED JOB LOSS

500,000

We are just not getting any orders. There isno option for most exporters other than

winding up operations

NAVRATAN SAMDRIA, Chairman, India Exposition Mart

T

HE US AND EUROPEAN UNION, THE

worst-hit regions, absorb a lmost

60 per cent of Indias textile exp-orts. According to the latest available

da ta , India s textile exports to the US

had dipped marginally to $4.34 bil-

lion in Janua ry-October 2008, even

before the current crisis showed up.

Sa ys D. K. Nair of Confederation of

Indian Textile Industry (CITI): Order

books have been hit by 25-30

per cent The performance October

onwards will be much worse. Adds

Siddhartha Rajagopal, Executive

Director, Texprocil or the CottonTextiles Export Promotion Council:

The ma jor impact w ill be felt in

the coming months when the

current order-cycle would have

been completed.

If the shrinking markets spell bad

news, the low-cost competition from

Bangladesh and Vietnam could be the

last na il in the coffin. These countries

are eating up markets as well

as profit ma rgins.

Already, Bangladesh is poised to

overtake India in apparel exports to the

US. Its exports were up 6.21 per cent

to $2.25 billion this year up to August,

during which Indian exports were

down 4.47 per cent to $3.05 billion.

Sa ys Nair: Their domestic labour

rates are almost half ours.

So, Indian exporters are scrambling

to shift to higher value-added finished

products for better margins, and cut-

ting prices where possible.

Sudhir Dhingra, Chairman and

Managing Director of garments

SNAPSHOT

TEXTILES

In TattersTOTAL EMPLOYMENT

120 millionMAJOR MARKETS

US & EuropeGROWTH IN Q3, 2008-09

-10%ESTIMATED JOB LOSS

500,000

SATISHKAUSHIK

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