NEW DELHI – 28th JANUARY, 2023 – The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts & Sourcing Consultants Association (BAA) jointly organised an Interactive Session on ‘VRIKSH – Indian Timber Legality Assessment and Verification Scheme’ & ‘Reaching Out to Overseas Buyer Through Buying Houses’ at New Delhi on 28th January, 2023.
Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman – EPCH ( joined virtually) Ravi Passi, Past Chairman EPCH & Convener (Northern Region); D kumar, Member CoA – EPCH; R. K. Verma, Executive Director – EPCH; Sachin Raj Jain, Convener, NCCF; Vishal Dhingra, Chairman, Sourcing Consultants Association (BAA); Rajesh Rawat, Addl. Executive Director – EPCH and large number of leading exporters & buying representatives from Delhi NCR were present – informed by Rakesh Kumar, Director General EPCH.
R. K. Verma, Executive Director – EPCH welcomed all the officials from various agencies such as GIPL, Sourcing Consultants Association (BAA), buying representatives and the leading exporters from Delhi NCR. He informed that today’s interactive session is organized to facilitate the exporters & address their issues related to international compliances for boosting exports. International market standards and compliance are becoming a key factor in the competitiveness of Handicraft exports and access to a wide range of export opportunities. Another aspect that wooden handicraft exporters must take care of is necessary compliances with respect to timber legality and EPCH’s VRIKSH – Timber legality assessment and verification scheme which is accepted in 184 CITES signatory countries, aims to do the same for the exporter.
Ravi Passi, Past Chairman – EPCH & Convener (Northern Region) shared the journey of certification on various products and solution provided by the EPCH over the years. He further informed that the value chain includes all of the activities that businesses undertake to bring a product from conception to end use and beyond. A value chain’s activities can be contained within a single firm or divided among several firms. Value chain activities can produce goods or services and can be concentrated in a single geographic location or dispersed across a larger area.
Sachin Raj Jain, Convener, NCCF made a detailed presentation on ‘VRIKSH – Indian Timber Legality Assessment and Verification Scheme’ highlighting the importance of Timber Legality by “Due Diligence” or “Due Care” as per international regulations. He further explained the fulfillment of the Chain of Custody requirements included in the VRIKSH standard that will demonstrate the ability of the organizations to accurately track “Vriksh” Verified Timber products received from recognized Supply chain participants through internal processes in order to make accurate claims to their customers about the products legal origins. In addition, he emphasised the importance of sustainability, circular economy, carbon conscious world, and carbon net zero in current business environment. Governments around the world are now aiming for zero carbon emissions from factories by providing incentives and carbon credits and making industry understand the value of social responsibility.
Vishal Dhingra, Chairman, Sourcing Consultants Association (BAA) informed exporters can improve their current operations by getting ready for inspection, testing, and compliance with international standards. They will be able to do this to increase their local, online, and global presence. He added that sourcing, or the process by which buying agents communicate with and build professional connections with product suppliers, is the fundamental skill of the trade. Additionally, the trade aims to inform exporters of any recent industry developments and educate them on the nuances of strategic sourcing.
Various questions pertaining to Vriksh scheme, Marketing and Compliances etc. were asked by the participants. The speakers addressed all the questions and provided solutions to the exporters.
EPCH is a nodal agency for promoting exports of handicrafts from the Country to various destinations of the world and projecting India’s image abroad as reliable supplier of high quality of handicrafts goods & services. The Handicrafts exports during the year 2021-22 was Rs. 33253.00 Crores (US $ 4459.76 Million) registering a growth of 29.49% in rupee term & 28.90% in dollar terms over the previous year, informed by Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH.
