Market For Handicrafts

Aritra Mitra, Aniket Panja and Rohit Prasad

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Handicraft is about processing materials by hand with hand tools. The result can be helpful or decorative things. The materials used in this process are natural, industrially processed or maybe recycled. The models of the product are ancient, revised traditional or fashionable.

Overview

Before industrial development, the handicrafts industry was a potential economic advantage for the country. In recent years, the importance of handicrafts has surged due to their cultural and financial values. The small scale industries – including handicrafts can play a major role in the development of the economy of both the developed and the developing countries. The 90-95% of the total industrial products of the world is produced in small workshops run by less than 100 people.

The Indian handicraft industry is one of the largest employment generators and accounts for a significant share in the country’s exports. The industry is fragmented and unorganised with more than seveb million regional artisans and more than 67,000 exporters promoting regional art and craftsmanship in the domestic and global markets.

The total export of handicrafts from India is expected to nearly double to $2.7 billion in FY 2015-16 and is expected to increase further to $3.8 billion by FY 2020-21. In 2015-16, Indian handicrafts export stood at $4.5 billion which is up by approximately 15.4% of the previous year’s exports. Exports of Indian handicrafts have increased at around 16.4% since the last five years.