Indian Hair Ind exports touch Rs 70 cr

Indian Hair Industries Private Limited, a leader in raw human hair exports and the first company in the country to open a unit to process, bleach and dye human hair, has exported 400 tonnes of raw and processed hair worth Rs 70 crore to 30 countries across the world during 2004-05.

The value of the company's exports was the same in 2003-04. The firm plans to consolidate its position in the industry and make some more value-added processed products during 2004-05.

Speaking to Business Standard, V Ravindra Nath, managing director of Indian Hair Industries, said, "China has been the major buyer of raw human hair from our firm. We also export raw human hair to Indonesia, Singapore, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, USA, South Africa and some Latin and South American countries. Value-added bleached and dyed human hair is air-lifted to Germany, the US and UK."

Indian Hair Industries purchases two types of raw human hair "� temple hair and fallen hair.

The company buys hair in bulk from big temples, and fallen hair from agents doing business in 15 states including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

These agents buy hair from hawkers, who collect fallen hair from housewives. In Andhra Pradesh, two communities "� Mandi and Gangireddula "� collect fallen hair from the households.

The hair thus collected is processed, hand and machine weaved, and are made ready for making wigs.

The company supplies cuticle-free hair, super fine, hand tie weft, untreated hair and hair varieties of silky weaving, yaky weaving, super weaving, deep weaving, body weaving, pre-curl, silky bulk, yaky bulk, super bulk, Afro curl, micro braid, two tone, straight braid, curly braid, straight weaving, curly weaving, straight hand weaving and special hair hand weaving.

"The company has also entered into the global market of world high-quality natural hair products, trading in cuticle intact (remy) high quality human hair in bulk and wefts, which is bleached and dyed in our processing unit. This variety is popular in Europe and America," Ravindra Nath said.

According to Nath, human hair is available in massive quantities in India and China only.

"Indian Hair Industries and 30 other Indian firms faced tough competition from China. But we managed to dodge the Chinese competition by supplying products of international standards. In case of processed hair, we faced competition from some European companies. While China gives a number of incentives to its human hair industries, the Indian government does not extend any support to the units here. Even the small incentive of 5 per cent that the Indian government gave was stopped in 1993," he said.