Common Handloom product
2.9 Cost of handloom product
Input like yarn etc. costs 50 to 80 percent of the product cost, and labor cost varies from 15 to 23 percent as per Table 2.12.
Table 2.12: Input cost and labor cost of some handloom products
Handloom product Input cost like yarn etc. Labor cost
Colour saris (80s x 80s) 67% 33%
Dhotis (120s x 110s) 36% 64%
Dhotis (20s x 20s) 60% 40%
The All India handloom board also recommended that there should be a central marketing organization with branches in Bangalore, Bombay, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Amritsar. Central marketing organization is to find markets, create demand, arrange direct transactions between parties, and finally find possibilities to explore possibilities for further development. Also, Central Museum is proposed in New Delhi and showrooms at various centers.
Marketing and research committee (First Meeting) January 1946 recommends that the Government of India employ Marketing officers to promote the marketing of handloom products overseas at various locations across the globe.
Sales of handloom products
The local market (64.1%) is the primary source of sales for overall handloom products.
Jagadish Das & Co, a wholesale dealer of Banarasi sarees based in the Chowk market area of Varanasi, has been in the handloom business for over 100 years [46]. Source of sales of handloom products can be seen in Table 2.13
Table 2.13: Sources of sales by handloom worker households
Sources of sales Share of sales
Local market 64.1%
Master weavers 17.6%
Co-operative society 8.8%
Organized fairs 1%
Export 0.4%
E-commerce 0.2%
Others 8%
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61 IKEA has tied up with many small local companies like Rangsutra craft Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
Hence handloom products have found their way to the plush European markets. Many small enterprises and big labels like Hermes online store, USA, are working with artisans from Indian villages to create unique apparel.
Growth and expansion of this handloom product market have not been able to reflect on the traditional handloom industry in India concerning growth in overall fashion retail on e- commerce and online. As per the Handloom Export Promotion Council, exports of Indian handloom products were $357.58 million in 2016-17, $353.92 million in 2017-18, $343.43 million in 2018-19, $315.62 million in 2019-20, $222.65 million in 2020-21, which is extremely low compared to other types of clothes/textiles which are being exported from India[15].
Competition in export
Two Asian countries, Bangladesh and Vietnam, have comparable apparel exports, whereas Cambodia and Ethiopia are new emerging significant players within the next decade [47].
14% to 18% export of Man-made textiles compared to Total textiles from 2007 to 2012.
The export of various textile products has shown in Figure 2.24. This is shown as per fibre used.
Figure 2.24: Export of various Textile products
(Source- Foreign Trade Statistics of India (Principal Commodities and Countries) DGCIandS, Kolkata (2012)
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62 Countrywise export of textiles and clothing has shown in Figure 2.25.
Figure 2.25 Export Textiles and clothing 2000 - 2014
Strong growth forecast, the buoyant housing market, strong social mobility, young population, home textiles, and staple products are the contrasting factors shaping the future of the regions, i.e., Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, compared to North America, Australia, Western and Eastern Europe.
Year-wise Production of Handloom cloth & export of handloom products is in Table 2.14.
“Exports of Handloom during 2009-10 were of the order of USD 265 million and increased to 365 million in 2010-11, recording a growth of 38%. During 2011-12, Handloom exports further increased to US$ 554 million, recording a growth of 60%. The biggest destination of India’s Handlooms products is the USA, followed by the UK, Italy, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Netherland, UAE, and Spain during FY 2015-16[27].
A Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) was conducted in North Eastern Region to promote sells [48].
Handloom products of 46.6 ₹ million have been sold through e-commerce [43].
Export Promotion Activities of the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) organize India International Hand-woven Fair (IIHF). Also, HEPC has been periodically organizing awareness seminars across the country about the intricacies involved in export trade.
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63 Table 2.14: Year-wise production of Handloom cloth & export of handloom products
Year
Handloom cloth
production Handloom exports (million square
meters) (₹ in million)
2007-08 6947 NA
2008-09 6677 NA
2009-10 6806 12528.1
2010-11 6907 15749.5
2011-12 6901 26239.6
2012-13 6952 28119.7
2013-14 7104 22331.1
2014-15 7203 22464.8
2015-16 NA 23533.2
2016-17 NA 23922.1
2017-18 NA 22801.8
2018-19 NA 23923.9
2019-20 NA 22483.3
2020-21 NA 16447.8
Limitation to export
Standardization and uniform (ends and picks) quality of handloom products is the most significant problem for export in this decentralized sector. Standardization will improve by uniform handloom machinery with standard bought-out items like reeds and healds for repeatability and reproducibility of handloom products.
Remedies to overcome limitations to export/increase sales
These products should be made with individual characteristics of color and design to meet local and overseas requirements, primarily to reduce competition with mill products. Also, the products must fulfill the demand of the marketing organization by producing in bulk with improvements in weaving techniques for ornamentation to make a unique selling proposition.
Handlooms could not fulfill the bulk requirement, while mills have seized the opportunity.
Small power looms are in big competition with handlooms.
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64 Khaddar movement after 1928 changed many clothing habits like the Gandhi cap substituted by a modern cap. Many such substitutions occurred in those periods when handloom products were replaced by modern products woven in automatic machines.
Then Master weavers, co-operative societies, and small-scale industries can be formed to produce in an organized way if proper inputs are available to them, like yarn, and dye, in their desired quantity. These organizations will succeed with adequate financial support, training on management efficiency, maintaining uniform operational costs, and proper marketing strategy. The state government of Assam has decided to separate the Handloom Co- operatives from The Directorates of Handloom and Textiles.
Comprehensive all India study about the structure and production of the industry, the types of weavers and intermediaries, the earnings, the method and cost of marketing, the extent of competition, and co-operative organization is essential to make any action plan.
Investigated the existing method of production like winding, warping, sizing, beaming, and weaving, dying to find possibilities to improve it to fulfill the marketing need.
Some specialty fabrics, namely curtains, furnishings, upholstery clothes, table clothes, towels, etc., are required in bulk as government purchases.
Following products have the highest export in descending order based on overall revenue generated in 2020-21 and also the last ten years’ export history
1) Floor coverings
i) Mat and mattings, including Bath mats, where cotton predominates by weight – ₹ 4788.9 million
ii) Carpets, Rugs, and mats of handloom – ₹ 2244 million
iii) Cotton Durries of handloom (including Chindi durries, Cotton chenille durries, Rag rug durries, printed durries, druggets) –₹ 1045.3 million 2) Madeups
i) Other furnishing articles of handloom – ₹ 2526.8 million ii) Cushion cover of handlooms – ₹ 1214.8 million
iii) Bed sheets and bed covers of handloom – ₹ 1226.8 million
iv) Terry fabrics, Other bed linen, table linen, toilet linen, kitchen linen of cotton, handloom –₹ 576.4 million
v) Pillow cases and pillow slips of handloom – ₹ 480.5 million vi) Table cloths and table covers of handloom –₹ 284.4 million
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65 vii) Floor cloth, dishcloths, dusters, and the like of cotton of handloom –
₹ 133.7 million
viii) Napkins of handloom – ₹ 81.5million 3) Clothing accessories
i) Scarves, shawls, mufflers, mantillas, veils of silk handloom – ₹ 614.5 million
4) Fabrics
i) Woven fabrics of silk or of silk wastes of handloom – ₹ 621.5million
ii) Other fabrics (Except Saree, dhoti, lungi, terry towel, casement, sheeting (Takia, leopard cloth other than furnishings)) of handloom– ₹ 382.6 million
iii) Sarees of handloom – ₹ 38.3 million iv) Lungis of handloom –₹ 28.1 million
v) Zari bordered sarees of handloom –₹ 20.8 million vi) Dhotis of handloom –₹ 12.4million
The product-wise trend in the last ten years is shown in Figure 2.26 and 2.27 to choose the product in demand for export during weaving to increase earnings. Profitability needs to check by reducing activity-based costing from the selling price.
Figure 2.26: Revenue in export of handloom product for last 10-year part-1 of 2
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66 Figure 2.27: Revenue in export of handloom product for last 10-year part-2 of 2 Mat, carpet, rug, other furnishing articles of handloom, woven fabric of silk or silk waste, sarees of handloom, zari bordered sarees of handloom are showing uptrend revenue-wise.
Few products show a downtrend only during corona, like bed sheets and bed covers, scarves, shawls, mufflers, mantillas, and veils of silk handloom. It can be checked alternate products supplied by a competitor with their market share for making unique selling proposition through intervention at various levels.