China to be a big market for Indian handmade carpets'

A Chinese delegation to the India Carpet Expo at Varanasi has shown keen interest handmade carpets. The textiles Ministry now believes China could be a major market for Indian handmade carpets, according to an official statement.

The Carpet Expo drew more than 350 overseas buyers, in addition to 276 buying representatives, in the first three days.

A delegation from Yiwu city of China visited the Expo on an invitation from the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC). Wang Bi Rong, Director General Bureau of Commerce led the eight-member delegation to take stock of Indian handmade carpets displayed by 303 exporters from all over India.

The CEPC delegation was led by its Chairman Kuldeep R. Wattal. A presentation was made about the economy and market position of the Yiwu City by Wang. The Chinese delegation said it was impressed by the high quality of Indian handmade carpets, which they did not find in China. The delegation was confident that the Indian handmade carpets would sell very well in Yiwu City.

The Chinese expressed a desire for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CEPC for promoting and selling Indian handmade carpets in Yiwu. CEPC Chairman Wattal expressed hope that such collaborations would boost exports of Indian carpets to China.

Wang also expressed the desire to have a strong representation of Indian handmade carpet exporters in Yiwu City in their May 2016 show. The CEPC Chairman appreciated the efforts of the Chinese delegation's keenness to popularize Indian carpets China. Wattal said the industry is looking forward to China as a whole and Yiwu City in particular.