The Hindu Business Line : Handloom gets 8-digit commodity classification

New Delhi, Nov. 30 After a gap of six years, as many as 27 handloom products of the country have re-entered the harmonised system (HS) of commodity classification, which would enable monitoring of basic data relating to the handloom sector.

This would help the authorities draw up specific plans to help boost handloom exports, besides ameliorating the weavers’ lot.

Official sources said that the eight-digit level commodity classification under the harmonised system would cover such products as handloom, handloom woven, coir, coir bristle fibre, coir mattress fibre, coir short fibre, coir bit fibre, decorticated coir fibre, including log form and geotextiles, rubberised coil, needled felt, coir pith, processed in value, added forms such as briquette, coins, neo disc, grow bags, organic manure and in loose form for use in horticulture or agriculture, carpets, rugs and mats of handloom fabrics, handloom sarees, napkins, pillow cases and pillow slips and other furnishing articles made up of handloom.

When contacted, the Minister of State for Commerce and Power, Mr Jairam Ramesh, told Business Line here that since 2002-03, reliable statistics on handloom production and exports were not available, even though handlooms employ the second largest number after agriculture in the country.

Sun-rise sector

He said that handloom exports, which fetched $544 million during 2002-03, the last year on which reliable statistics of HS classification existed, is a sun-rise sector and needs to be bolstered through proper strategies for highlighting its inherent aesthetic values and use for discriminating users.

He said recently, he had opened a Design Studio in Kannur in Kerala promoted jointly by the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) and the Kannur Textile Association (KTA) on a public-private partnerships (PPP) model in which the Department of Commerce and the KTA shared the cost with the Centre contributing Rs 45 lakh under the Market Access Imitative (MAI) and the balance Rs 5 lakh by the KTA.

He said Kannur contributes Rs 300 crore by way of handloom exports and accounts for 10 to 15 per cent share of the country’s aggregate handloom exports.

He said that as water purity in Kannur is high, the handloom weavers were able to produce bright colour handloom fabrics which command premium price in countries such as Spain.

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