India's Exports of Handicrafts Grew by 5.3% in August 2013

India’s exports of handicrafts grew by 5.3 percent year-on-year to US$ 523 million in the month of August 2013.
 
According to the data released by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), the exports of handicrafts stood at US$ 497 million during the same period last year, reports the Hindu Business Line quoting PTI.
 
Rakesh Kumar, executive director of EPCH, said the demand for handicraft products has been rising mainly in emerging markets like China, Latin America and Africa.
 
The demand in US market is continuously picking up but demand in the European markets still remains sluggish, he added.
 
US and Europe together account for 60 percent of India’s total exports of handicraft products.
 
Ravi Passi, Founder of RK Arts and former chairman of EPCH, said Indian exporters are likely to be benefited from China’s decision to focus more on capital-intensive sectors than labor-intensive ones, and this will provide an opportunity for Indian exporters to increase the share of handicraft products in the global market.
 
In April-August 2013 period, the exports of handicraft items from India grew by 11 percent to US$ 1.41 billion compared to the same period last fiscal.
 
Last fiscal, India achieved its handicraft export target of US$ 3.3 billion.