The Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) is organizing the 38thIndia Carpet Expo (15thin Varanasi) from Friday, 11th– 14thOctober, 2019 in Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Ground with an aim to promote the cultural heritage and weaving skills of Indian hand-made carpets and other floor coverings for the visiting overseas carpet buyers.India carpet expo is aplatform for international carpet buyers, buying houses, buying agents, architects and Indian carpet manufacturers andexporters to meet and establish business relationship.The Expo is organized twice a year in Varanasi and Delhi.
India Carpet Expo is one of the largest handmade carpet fairs in Asia. India’s unique capability in adapting any type of design, colour, quality and size as per the specifications of the carpet buyers has made it a household name in the international market. Industry uses diverse raw-materials from various parts of India like wool, silk, manmade fibre, jute, cotton and various blends of different yarns. The carpet industry has immense potential for growth both in production and exports. The industry is environment friendly and does not use scarce and perishable energy resources.
The Carpet Export Promotion Council has 2700 members from all over the country and the prime objective of the Carpet Export PromotionCouncil in holding the India Carpet Expo in the major carpet producing belt of Varanasi is to provide unique pick and choose business opportunity to all overseas carpet buyers. It is the endeavour of the Council to provide exclusive business environment to the both carpet importers as well as manufacturer and exporters. Around 200 members from all over India are participating in this Expo.
The major carpet producing centres in India are in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, North East Region of India, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Ravi Capoor, Secretary Textiles, Ministry of Textiles, will inaugurate the 38thIndia Carpet Expo on 11thOctober, 2019and Shantmanu, Development Commissioner Handicrafts, will be the guest of honour.
Over 450 reputed overseas carpet buyers are expected to attend the Expo.
Indian handmade carpet industry is number one in the international handmade carpet market both in terms of value and volume. India exports 85-90% of its total carpet production.
Exports of Handmade Carpets and other floor coverings:
| Year | Total Exports in USD Million | Total Exports in Rupees Crores |
| 2013-14 | 1579.09 | 9557.24 |
| 2014-15 | 1819.69 | 11120.30 |
| 2015-16 | 1726.78 | 11299.73 |
| 2016-17 | 1773.98 | 11895.16 |
| 2017-18 | 1711.17 | 11028.05 |
| 2018-19 | 1765.96 | 12364.68 |
India is exporting its handmade carpets to more than 70 countries in the world, mainly to the USA, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, France, Italy and Brazil. Recently, exports have also started to China.
Germany and other European countries were the traditional markets for export of Indian products followed by USA. The European markets have been fully developed and have reached saturation point. The Council has envisaged USA, LAC Countries – Brazil, Chile, Argentina, China, Scandinavian Countries – Norway, Sweden & South Africa and Oceania Countries – Australia & New Zealand as thrust countries.
There is a huge scope of investment in this sectorto setup units to produce carpets and other floor coverings in order to discourage imports and also fulfil domestic requirements.
Indian Handmade Carpet Industry is highly labour intensive and provides employment to over 20 lakh workers and artisans especially women directly or indirectly in the rural areas. Most of the artisans and weavers employed in this sector are from the weaker section of the society and this trade provides extra and alternate occupation to them at their homes.
