38th India Carpet Expo opens in Varanasi
11 Oct 2019
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The Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) has organised the 38th annual India Carpet Expo which is being held from 11 to 14 October in Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Ground. The expo will showcase the cultural heritage and weaving skills of Indian hand-made carpets and other floor coverings for the visiting overseas carpet buyers.
India carpet expo is a platform for international carpet buyers, buying houses, buying agents, architects and Indian carpet manufacturers and exporters to meet and establish business relationship. The Expo is organised twice a year in Varanasi and Delhi.
India Carpet Expo is one of the largest fairs for handmade carpets in Asia. India’s unique capability in adapting to any type of design, colour, quality and size as per the specifications of the carpet buyers has made it a household name in the international market.
The Indian carpet industry uses diverse raw-materials from various parts of India such as wool, silk, manmade fibre, jute, cotton and various blends of different yarns. The carpet industry has immense potential for growth both in production and exports. The industry is environment friendly and does not use scarce and perishable energy resources.
The Carpet Export Promotion Council has 2,700 members from all over the country and the India Carpet Expo, being held in the major carpet producing belt of Varanasi will provide unique pick and choose business opportunity to all overseas carpet buyers. The expo will provide an exclusive business environment to both carpet importers as well as manufacturer and exporters. Around 200 members from all over India are participating in this Expo.
The major carpet producing centres in India are in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, North East Region of India, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Over 450 reputed overseas carpet buyers are expected to attend the Expo.
Indian handmade carpet industry is number one in the international handmade carpet market both in terms of value and volume. India exports 85-90 per cent of its total carpet production.
India is exporting its handmade carpets to more than 70 countries in the world, mainly to the USA, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, France, Italy and Brazil. Recently, exports have also started to China.
Germany and other European countries were the traditional markets for export of Indian products followed by USA. The European markets have been fully developed and have reached saturation point. The Council has envisaged USA, LAC Countries - Brazil, Chile, Argentina, China, Scandinavian Countries - Norway, Sweden and South Africa and Oceania Countries – Australia & New Zealand as thrust countries.
There is a huge scope of investment in this sector to set up units to produce carpets and other floor coverings in order to discourage imports and also fulfil domestic requirements.
Indian Handmade Carpet Industry is highly labour intensive and provides employment to over 2 million workers and artisans, especially women, directly or indirectly in the rural areas. Most of the artisans and weavers employed in this sector are from the weaker section of the society and this trade provides extra and alternate occupation to them at their homes.
Total exports of handmade carpets and floor coverings from India were valued at $1.77 billion (Rs12,365 crore) in 2018-19, up from exports valued at $1.71 billion (Rs11,028 crore) in the previous financial year, figures provided by the textile ministry showed.
Exports of Handmade Carpets and other floor coverings:
