Artisans in Sri Lanka’s gem and jewellery sector are designing new products that reflect the latest trends. Their collections are making inroads in competitive European markets.

Mozambique has been losing its forests to poor people who scrape a living from this valuable natural resource. Today, some are producing chic wooden bracelets for the world market while conserving precious woodlands.

Craft enterprises and artisans can today hope to improve their position in global trade, as a result of changes in product classification that can make their contribution to the economy more visible.

Because of its network in developing countries and its position as a practical organization concerned with export trade, ITC was able to act as a facilitator in this initiative.

Interview with Tembeka Nkamba-Van Wyk, Talking Beads Academy

A South African businesswoman spotted an opportunity when she noticed that local craft traditions were disappearing, while tourists were seeking locally-made handicrafts. In capitalizing on the opportunity, she has created an export business employing thousands of women in rural areas, and has invested in their communities by providing training and medical care.

One of the major mistakes artisanal producers can make is to design their craft products in styles or colours that are no longer appealing to their target markets. In fact, the style and appearance of products can change very rapidly and the export marketplace requires new products on a regular basis because consumers become bored with old products.

ARGENTINA (Córdoba): Artesanías – Feria Internacional de Artesanías: Ceramic, leather, wood, metal, stone, textile, glass and paper items, musical instruments. Date/length: ten days in March/April (tel. +54-351 4810759, fax 4890023).

The first joint ITC/World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Workshop on Legal Protection of Craft Items (Havana, February 2001) gathered 160 participants from 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. They included artisans and representatives from intellectual property rights authorities, the craft sector and its trade support institutions. Besides the organizers, two international organizations were present: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Crafts Council. The three-day sessions were chaired by the director of the Fundación Española para la Artesanía (Spanish crafts foundation).

ITC encourages organizations involved in promoting artisanal exports to announce this WCO recommendation to their own networks, by reporting the development in magazines, newsletters and web sites, as well as at relevant events. “In view of the recommendation’s importance for trade promotion and export development of artisanal products, it is crucial that it be officially accepted and implemented by countries as soon as possible,” notes Bertil Byskov, Chief of ITC’s Market Development Section.

María-Mercedes Sala, the ITC Market Development Officer responsible for artisanal products, reports that she has “disseminated it to 2,000 development partners around the world, including crafts ministries and departments, United Nations Development Programme affiliates, trade support institutions, craft business associations and relevant non-governmental organizations. WCO has also informed its worldwide network and asked its member countries to classify all craft products accordingly”.

Please inform M.-M. Sala directly about any achievements or progress made towards implementing this recommendation, and about any announcements that you make to your own networks. She can be contacted at: phone +41 22 730 0449; fax: +41 22 730 0446; e-mail: sala@intracen.org

ITC encourages national governments to implement a new recommendation of the World Customs Organization (WCO).

Trade promotion and facilitation bodies, both in exporting and importing countries, can be tapped to support the efforts of the developing country exporters. (See the Index to Internet Sources on ITC’s web site, at http://www.intracen.org/itc/infobase/infobase.htm for contact information.) Some of these organizations specifically focus on the carpet trade sector.

A series of norms and regulations are in force in the major export markets. The norms and regulations deal with product aspects as well as trade-related aspects. These considerations cover quality, health and safety; packaging, labelling and packaging waste; environmental considerations; and working conditions. Below are sample contact points for certification, inspection, market trends and import facilitation.

For more information contact María-Mercedes Sala, ITC Market Development Officer, at sala@intracen.org

Specialized carpet trade fairs allow producers to explore tastes and requirements of potential buyers, note competition and trends and reinforce a national image, which helps generic promotion. Contact information is given below for major carpet trade fairs located in Europe.

ITC organized a two-week study tour to the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore for a group of key Indian government officials, experts and exporters.

Producers and exporters of traditional carpets and kilims need new marketing approaches to meet today’s challenges: an increase in machine-made carpets that imitate Oriental rugs and kilims; growing consumer interest in environmentally friendly products; and consumer concern about child labour.

Repositioning carpets as “tokens of heritage”, joining industry forces to educate consumers, using the Internet effectively and making the right contacts are among the ways producers and exporters can stay competitive. ITC is working with several international organizations to give greater identity to hand-made carpets in trade statistics. This change would give policy makers more accurate data for trade development planning. María-Mercedes Sala, ITC Market Development Officer for artisanal products, reports.