India Carpet Expo, one of the largest carpets’ show in Asia, which was slated to be held from March 28 to March 31 in New Delhi stands cancelled as of now as many buyers have dropped out from the event following the coronavirus threat.
Over 200 buyers from across the world had already registered for the expo. Most of them were from the United States who buy Indian carpets in bulk, officials associated with the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) say.
CEPC on Thursday morning sent out a circular to all exhibitors to inform them about the cancellation of the event. No fresh date of the expo has been announced so far. CEPC organises this event, as well as many other expos both in and outside India.
The cancellation of the event has rattled the industry, particularly the carpet exporters and manufacturers of Uttar Pradesh who are already suffering a loss of business due to a slump in economy. Industry experts say that the cancellation of expo will lead to an estimated loss worth Rs400 crores to the exporters of Uttar Pradesh only.
Bhadohi, Mirzapur and Varanasi districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh is known for world-class carpets prepared on handlooms. There is a huge demand of UP carpets in US, Europe and Middle east markets.
Over 400 exporters across India were supposed to attend this expo to showcase their contemporary and innovative designs. Many of them were from Uttar Pradesh. Most of them have dropped out from the expo now anticipating a washout following recent visa restrictions imposed by India and other countries including US.
Khushi Jain, Creative Director of Village Weavers, Mirzapur was to showcase her contemporary designs for upcoming season-oriental and Persian both-at the expo. Now, she is disappointed
“For mid and small cap companies, expos are major platform to get business. United States is the main buyer of our carpets. I was expecting a good business in the Delhi expo since I couldn’t attend the Germany expo. Yet, I had to drop out as most buyers had cancelled their visit,” she said while speaking to Free Press Journal.
Jain admitted that the coronavirus pandemic has led to massive impact on carpet business.
