Indian handicrafts find a new market in China
After years of manufacturing Indian handicrafts dedicated to India’s myriad Gods, epics and traditions, China is waking up to the artistic value of Indian handicrafts. 
Indian handicrafts are seeing a huge market in China. “One of the very interesting developments taking place during the last few years has been the growth in exports of handicrafts from India to China,” said Ravi K. Passi, President of Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF) Spring 2012, at a press conference in New Delhi.
Handicrafts exports to China in 2008-09 were Rs. 418.33 crore and have been steadily increasing year on year. During 2010-11, handicrafts exported to China totaled Rs. 945.72 crore registering a growth of 94.07 percent within a span of three years, which is not only impressive but also indicative that Indian Handicrafts are finding a stable market in China.
During 2009-10, handicrafts exported from India to China included metal crafts, wood crafts, hand printed textiles and scarves, fashion jewellery and accessories, shawls as artware, embroidered and crocheted goods and mix of various types of handicrafts classified as mix handicrafts. While exports of zari and zari goods and hand printed textiles and scarves suffered a minor decline of 8 percent and 67 percent respectively during 2010-11 compared to 2009-10 whereas increase in metal craft products showed a phenomenal growth of 991 percent and exports of wood crafts showed a growth of 116 percent , Passi said and added that the reasons for decline in zari and zari goods and hand printed textiles and scarves are being studied for remedial actions.
My first week in the Pearl of the Orient
你好 readers,
It has been a frantic start to my time here in Shanghai, and today is the first day I’ve had some time to actually sit down and write anything of note since landing here last Saturday. So where do I begin?
Well, let me give you my first impressions of the city, because the journey from the airport to your destination is always a bit special, and invokes distinct emotions and thoughts. As I made my way on the highway I was passed on both sides seemingly lifeless low tech industrial buildings, followed by clumps of tall uninspiring residential buildings that projected from the ground. The infamous smog that plagues Shanghai made the setting look like a ghost industrial town often seen in doomsday futuristic movies. I have been to Shanghai once before, but I do not remember the smog being this bad. Yet as I progressed I eventually began to see a gradual change. The buildings grew taller still, and as I drew neat the city center, they glass and steel buildings became the norm. My (very talkative) taxi driver gave me an apt welcome. On sitting in the taxi, his first inquiry was “where are you from” and on my replying “Bombay, India”, he asked “ah Bombay… is there lots of money? Can you get rich, like in Shanghai?” Welcome to China, I thought. Read more…
India: Gold demand drops; rice exports rise
As global political and economic scenes shift, and while the world still has its eyes on Iranian oil, subtle yet significant changes are taking place in other commodity markets as well. According to news reports, China already the worlds largest producer of gold, is expected to usurp the throne from India the erstwhile global consuming leader. While India will slip to second place in consumption of the yellow metal soon, the south Asian nation has already overthrown Thailand and Vietnam to become the worlds largest exporter of rice. The main premise behind India’s ascension to the largest global exporter to rice is due to its low pricing. Neighboring China remains the worlds largest producer, however doesn’t export as much due to a high domestic demand.
Thailand and Vietnam which have been comfortably perched as world’s top two rice exporters for years saw the balance of trade recently shifting – and not only due to India removing export restrictions in early September. It’s also because the Thai government has been buying rice at artificially high prices since early October to fulfill a pre-election promise to farmers. Thai rice is now at least US$100 per ton costlier than India’s – according to the Wall Street Journal. Thailand exported less than 400,000 tons of rice in January, most of which was fragrant Jasmine rice. Vietnam’s rice exports fell to below 300,000 tons in January, a considerable drop from the monthly average of almost 600,000 tons in 2011. Comparatively, India can easily export around 600,000 tons of rice.
500 member Chinese youth delegation to visit India
As a reciprocal exchange of people to people good faith generation between China and India, a youth delegation of 500 Chinese students from across the mainland will visit India on a nine-day tour commencing the 25th of February. The Indian embassy in Beijing which is currently processing their visas expects this to be the largest Chinese youth delegation to visit India. The idea of a youth exchange was conceptualized by Premier Wen Jiabao on his visit to India in 2010 to boost bilateral cultural ties, enhancing a better, first hand understanding of our two countries.
The idea to work on a grassroots level for increased youth exchanges, creating a better understand of each others cultures through language, education and travel in order to build trust is also the basic premise of Inchin Closer. For it is only when we build trust between our two nations will business, trade, and economies prosper.
China takes a bite off Apple
Apple has taken a sever beating in one of its most patriotic markets ever – China. First it was accusations of poor working conditions of Foxconn laborers where their iconic gadgets the ipad and iphones are assembled and now a Shenzhen-based enterprise Proview Technology is claiming ownership of the iPad trademark in China, effectively banning the export and import of Apple’s iPad 3.
China is one of Apple’s largest markets. The CEO of consumer electronics company Tim Cook described Apple’s conquest of emerging markets as “In 2007, when we hadn’t launched the iPhone outside the U.S. until 2008, Apple’s revenue combined from greater China and several other parts of asia, India, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America was US$1.4 billion. Revenue for that group of countries last year was US$22 billion. We’re only on the surface.”
The importance of the Chinese market to Apple cannot be undermined nor can Apple’s mass reverence in China. For a country which has just come to terms with cool technology, Apple is more than a status symbol, its a deity in the middle kingdom – its the only brand name which hasn’t been altered to sound chinese to sell better (McDonalds, KFC, Coke, Mercedes, the Sheraton, Marriott, you name a brand across any sector – has a chinese name and isn’t recognized by its English name throughout China.) Yet on a law that is meant more to keep counterfeiters at bay, a local Chinese company Proview Technology has won a law suit against Apple for the iPad trademark.
