The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is the nodal agency for development of handicrafts and promotion of exports from India to the world. EPCH with the support of Embassy of India in Sweden and Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India organised the 2nd Indian Handicrafts Buyer Seller Meet on 26th and 27th August’19 at Copenhagen, Denmark, informed Rakesh Kumar, Director General-EPCH.
The Buyer-Seller-Meet was inaugurated on 26th August’19 by Her Excellency Monika Kapil Mohta, Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia. Kumar further said that the 2nd Buyer Seller Meet in the Scandinavian Region has been a successful event being organised by the Council in Stockholm, Sweden. 25 Indian exporters are participating in this BSM and displaying a wide range of Indian handicrafts, home furnishings, floorings & textiles, Indian houseware & decorative, fashion accessories shawls, scarves, bags, fashion garments and Christmas décor from PAN India basis. The Buyer Seller Meet is a B2B exhibition for order booking for future sourcing of foreign buyers in Sweden.
Her Excellency Monika Kapil Mohta, Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia appreciated EPCH initiative to showcase Indian products at the buyer seller meet and suggested Indian exhibitors to maximise their outreach in Nordic market. Ambassador also informed that Nordic buyer preference is towards handmade products and this consciousness is increasing in the region thereby increasing the demand for sustainable, eco-friendly and recycled products to suit contemporary demands. She was amazed to see the variety of Indian crafts and significant artistic hand work seen in products from handicrafts clusters like Jaipur, Panipat, Moradabad, Meerut, Aligarh, Kolkata, Saharanpur, West Godavary Distt. in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi NCR etc.
RK Verma, Director EPCH informed that manufacturers in India are focussing on freshness and new thinking with diversification and launch of innovative products like hand bags and fashion scarves made from recycled pet bottles at this BSM thereby signifying our manufacturers’ & exporters’ growing knowledge of market trends and consumer preferences in Nordic region.
The Director General–EPCH further elaborated that the objective of organizing this Buyer-Seller Meet is match making of Indian companies with the Scandinavian companies interested in sourcing Indian Handicrafts, Home Furnishings, Floorings & Textiles, Indian Houseware & Decorative, Fashion Accessories Shawls, Scarves, Bags, Fashion Garments and Christmas Décor, Gifts, Lifestyle products for the Scandinavian market thereby creating a ‘Brand Image” of Indian Handicrafts amongst Scandinavian buyers.
The main exports markets for Indian handicrafts are USA followed by the EU, Middle East and Far East. However, Scandinavian countries are emerging as a new potential destination for exports of handicrafts. Indian craftsmanship, ethnic designs and colours. The Scandinavian countries are the potential markets for the Indian handicrafts. The exports of handicrafts from India are at $3803.55 mn in 2018-19 and exports of India handicrafts to Denmark was $30.81 with an increase of 6.13 percent over previous year. Rakesh Kumar hoped that with the overwhelming response and buyers turn out at Buyer-seller-meet will further lead to a growth in Indo-Swedish Trade relations in the year ahead.
