|
Back
Buyer eye on strawberry & Manipur murhas
A
STAFF REPORTER
Guwahati, Jan. 29:
Guwahati, Jan. 29: Products made from 25 clusters in the
Northeast managed to strike a chord with buyers at the
two-day cluster conclave that concluded at the Indian
Institute of Entrepreneurship here today.
The conclave was organised by the ministry of panchayati raj,
Khadi and Village Industries Commission, and ministry of
micro, small and medium enterprises to provide market
linkages to cluster products.
Eliciting a keen response, the buyers appreciated the
uniqueness of the products, which are in great demand, and
called for developing economies of scale to bring down
prices and the need to work on designs.
The clusters were in four major sectors — cane and bamboo,
handloom and khadi, handicraft and food processing.
Sriparna B. Baruah, a faculty member of IIE and the
programme in-charge, said there was a great response from
the buyers to the products made by the clusters of the
region.
She said there is a huge demand for baskets and dry flowers
of Meghalaya while the prospect of tie-ups with the Indian
Chamber of Commerce and Artfed for buyback of furniture from
Barpeta could be explored.
“Artfed has ordered 1,000 murhas and decorative baskets from
Dhubri,” Baruah said. “Organisations like Fabindia have
appreciated the products of the cane and bamboo cluster of
Pallel in Manipur,” she added Ficci, Artfed, North Eastern
Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation, NERAMAC,
Assam Government Marketing Corporation, Jaipur Rugs
Corporate Private Ltd, North Eastern Small Scale
Association, Indian Chamber of Commerce and other private
firms were among the buyers at the meet.
The handicrafts and handlooms corporation has been
identified as a potential buyer of the kouna craft items of
Manipur.
The buyers underscored the need to develop economies of
scale to bring down price and the need to work on designs on
the jute-making cluster.
On the traditional dressmaking cluster of Ziro in Arunachal
Pradesh, buyers emphasized the need for product
diversification and weighed the possibility of tie-ups with
Jaipur Rugs Corporate Private Ltd for the carpet-making
cluster of Tawang.
There was a huge response for strawberry, passion fruits and
organic honey. The buyers expressed interest in bulk
purchase of strawberries. “There was no dearth of demand for
passion fruits as both individual and institutional buyers
showed interest,” Baruah said.
On the handloom sector, the buyers emphasised simple
designs, the need for a better feel, colour trend and motif
apart from finishing.
In regard to muga, the conclave felt a need for a softer
texture and blending of eri and soft wool.
online location
|
