After registering 12 per cent growth in May, handicraft exports declined 3 per cent to $ 161 million in June due to sluggish demand in the Western markets.
In June 2011, the exports stood at $ 166 million, according to the data provided by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).
“The handicrafts exporters are getting less number of orders owing to weak demand in the US and European markets,” an EPCH official said.
The US and Europe together account for over 60 per cent of the country’s total handicraft exports.
However, during the first three months of this fiscal the exports grew 6.5 per cent to $ 591 million compared to the year ago period.
The council expects handicrafts exports to touch $ 3.2 billion in the current fiscal, compared to $ 2.75 billion in 2011—12.
Moradabad, Jaipur, Saharanpur, Jodhpur and Narsapur are the major handicraft hubs catering to world markets, employing one million people.
The decline in handcrafted exports is in sync with the country’s overall exports which declined by 5.45 per cent year—on—year to $ 25 billion in June in the wake of growing economic uncertainties in developed economies.