India Handicrafts & Gifts Fair enters 40th Edition

India Handicrafts & Gifts Fair enters 40th Edition

The 40^th edition of worlds largest handicrafts and gifts fair, IHGF Delhi Fair Autumn 2015 (earlier known as IHGF) will be held from 14 18 October, 2015 at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi.

Over 2,700 exhibitors of handicrafts drawn from all over the country will be exhibiting a wide range of products spread over 14 halls covering around 1,90,000 sq. m.

 

          

The fair will be inaugurated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Honble Union Minister of State for Textiles. Shri G. Ganga Raju, Member of Parliament from Narsapuram, Andhra Pradesh; Smt. Vimla Batham, MLA of Gautam Budh Nagar; Dr. S. K. Panda, Secretary (Textiles), Government of India; Shri J. K. Dadoo, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Textiles; Shri Rama Raman, Chairman GNIDA; and  Shri Alok Kumar, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) will also be present during the inaugural ceremony.

The Expo Centre and Mart was opened in 2006 with 8 exhibition halls built up at two levels each covering 35.000 sq. mtrs space, with a Central Function Building, restaurants, halls for seminars, conferences, conventions, business rooms and a huge parking lot.   Over the years, size of the IHGF has increased both in terms of the number of exhibitors as well as number of visitors. The demand for increased exhibition space has been constantly growing and in order to accommodate more exhibitors, the organizers used to put temporary stands; however, in order to find a permanent solution to the space crunch, six new halls with approximately 4 lakh sq. ft additional covered space are being offered to the exhibitors for the first time.  This is over and above the existing 8 halls.  The exhibition venue will now have over 72,000 sq. mtrs area covering 14 permanent halls. All the halls will now be equipped with modern amenities to help provide good business environment to the exhibitors and the overseas buyers, as conveyed by Shri Rakesh Kumar, Chairman-India Expo Centre & Mart and ED-EPCH. 

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts [EPCH], organizer of this fair, have so far organized 39 editions of the IHGF in series, which has come to be recognized as one stop sourcing event amongst the overseas buying community and as a very effective marketing medium amongst the Indian exporting community.  
The product categories on display will be i) Houseware, tableware, kitchenware, hotelware, ii) Home furnishing, home textiles, linens and made ups, iii) Festive dcor, Christmas, Halloween, valentines, birthdays, anniversaries celebrations, iv)Fashion jewellery, bags, scarves, ties, fashion compliments, v) Luggage, leather bags, and cases, vi) Furniture & Furniture accessories, vii) Carpets, rugs and floorings, viii) Bathroom accessories, ix) Spa and wellness, candles, incense, made ups, burners, potpourri and aromatics, x) Stationery, handmade paper items and greeting cards, xi) Lamps and lighting, chandeliers, lampshades, lanterns, xii) Decorative articles & giftware, xiii) Garden ornaments, lawn accessories, xiv) Sustainable products, jute, cane, bamboos, natural fibres, handwoven mats, xv) Educational games, trophies, games, toys. 

As per the indications received, more than 5,000 overseas buyers from leading international departmental/chain stores, wholesalers, distributors and major brands like Bloomingdale's, Macy, K-Mart, Walmart, Pier 1, Marks and Spencers, Restoration Hardware, Karstadt, Carrefour, Hobby Lobby etc. are expected to source their requirements at this fair.  These volume buyers will be from countries like USA, UK, Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, China, Australia and many more. Buyers from Latin American region particularly Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Chile, Central Asia, Africa and Middle East will also be sourcing their requirements at this fair, said Shri Dinesh Kumar, Chairman-EPCH. 

The show, apart from offering opportunity to the exhibitors and buyers to transact business under one roof at the show venue, will also host a series of activities including fashion shows, informative seminars and discussions on various relevant topics, cultural performances by Indian artists, live demonstration by artisans etc. 

Online business offers immense potential to exporters.  Keeping this in view, the Council has set up an e-hub where e-commerce portals like eBay, Flipkart, Shopclues and others will offer their services to the exhibitors.  Further, the Council has also extended invitation to Indian volume retail buyers to source their requirement from the exhibitors at the show. Some of the well known retailers have confirmed their visit such as Urban Ladder, Pepper Fry, The Furniture Republic, Craftvilla, West Side, Keeper Furnishing and many more, as elaborated by EDEPCH.  

Handicrafts exports have been growing on an average annual growth rate of 15% during the last decade.  However, the exports of handicrafts during the year 2014-15 has been Rs. 18,639.14 crore registering a growth of 7.96% in rupee terms and 6.82% in dollars terms as compared to previous year.  The exports of handicrafts during the first five months of 2015-16 is Rs. 7227.46 crore registering a growth of 8.57%, informed Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director EPCH. 

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts [EPCH] is a nodal agency for promotion and development of handicrafts; EPCH has been organizing the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair for the past 21 years.   IHGF-Delhi Fair Autumn 2015 is expected to generate huge amount of enquiries and on the spot orders.

DJM