Int’l buyers order handicrafts worth $1 million

Srinagar, June 4

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As the Valley’s handicraft sector is looking for a revival after the last year floods, orders to the tune of $1 million were placed for various Kashmiri crafts by global buyers during the recent International Buyer-Seller Meet held here.

“Orders worth more than $1 million were placed by buyers of 21 countries, mostly for Kashmiri carpets, shawls and paper maché,” Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) joint secretary general Faiz Bakshi told The Tribune.

The three-day meet, organised by the KCCI to promote Kashmiri handicrafts in international market and revive the Valley’s flood-hit economy, concluded yesterday.

Bakshi said the meet was successful and attracted buyers from various countries, including the United States, UK, Egypt, Palestine, Tunisia, France, Turkey, Germany and Indonesia. He said the KCCI would now particularly focus on the US, where it saw a lot of potential.

KCCI president Sheikh Ashiq said they had made a ‘good beginning’ and were hopeful of getting better response next year. “We made a good beginning and are hopeful of attracting 200 potential buyers from the international markets in the next five years,” he said.

As per the KCCI, the export of famed Kashmiri handicrafts had witnessed a decline of Rs 500 crore in the wake of the floods.

CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who had inaugurated the buyer-seller meet on May 30, had earlier stated that the government was planning to hold handicraft and industrial exhibitions on a much larger scale in the future. — TNS