Parul
The 42nd India Carpet Expo organised under the aegis of the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) concluded with a greater footfall than expected. This mega expo was organised with an aim to promote the cultural heritage and showcase the weaving skills of Indian hand-knotted carpet artisans amongst overseas buyers.
According to the officials, the carpet expo witnessed the gathering of around 257 carpet importers from various countries mainly from Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica. Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, U.A.E., U.K., U.S.A. Meanwhile, 280 buying representatives registered their presence at the mega expo.
Joe Hinson, a buyer from the US said that this is his first time in India. “The expo was amazing, and the products were really made of superior quality handmade materials. We see great business opportunity with the Indian products in near future as demands for rich Indian craftsmanship is having a great demand amongst American buyers,”
Another buyer from the UK, Angel Lackrin visited the ICE 2022 runs a chain of stores where he sells mostly Indian handmade carpets said, “India Carpet Expo 2022 gave us a great opportunity to meet carpet manufacturers across India under one roof. It saved my precious time, energy and money too which I would have otherwise done to meet them individually. The arrangements were world-class and I personally want to thank CEPC for making this show such a productive and profitable one after two years of the pandemic. I am looking forward eagerly to participating in the next Expo,”
Umar Hameed, Chairman, CEPC, in his concluding remarks, said, it was never easy to take the challenge of conducting such a big event when war had already started between Russia and Ukraine. We worked out from our data the number of buyers who can miss the show and put our foot down to go for it.
He further said that “Someone had to take the initiative to start so why not us. This show will take our industry a milestone ahead and give them business for the whole year. As we have to fulfil the target set for our industry for the year 2022-23, we have taken our steps to move ahead to fulfil the same,”
“This expo opened up new market opportunities for the industry and shall help small and Medium Indian carpet exporters promote their products to overseas countries. Eventually, this is an ongoing process, on a broader scale and is instrumental in projecting “Make in India Brand” in overseas markets.” He adds.
