The 45th edition of IHGF Delhi Fair Spring 2018 concluded successfully at India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida, with business enquiries valued at Rs 2700 crores. The fair played a significant role in exponentially increasing exports of handicrafts from the country where exports during the launch year 1994-95 which was Rs 3,159.62 crore has touched a phenomenal Rs 24,392.39 crore in 2016-17, said O P Prahldka, Chairman, EPCH.

More than 5,000 buyers from 111 countries visited the recently concluded IHGF Delhi fair, to source home, lifestyle, fashion and textiles products. The 45th edition of the biannual fair was an international platform to boost exports of small and medium entrepreneurs of the handicraft sector. With time, Indian export trade has widened its scope and reach.

Buyers from the world’s most prestigious companies/ departmental stores were seen placing orders. These included Apropos International Inc., Anthropologie, Four Hands LLC, Brylane Home, Earthbound Trading, Cost Plus World Market, Imax Corpn, Kalalou, among others.

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) has been doing tremendous efforts for increasing exports of handicrafts from the country firstly by organising this kind of handicrafts fair twice a year. Secondly, it is helping by setting up infrastructures at different craft clusters of the country to provide the product and design development facilities, use of technology to produce products in large quantities and also providing marketing linkages to the artisans and craftspersons, said Ajay Tamta, minister of state for textile.

Rakesh Kumar, ED – EPCH, organiser of the fair, said that the five days knowledge seminars saw large turnout of exhibiting companies as these included different and important subjects like cultural differences between the East and West and how they impact business; symposium on positioning of J&K handicrafts in domestic and overseas markets; goods and service tax; intellectual property rights; Customs Trade Partnership Agreement Terrorism; verification of certified forest products & trends and forecast – spring summer 2019.