Post-Brexit, It is wait-and-watch situation for Varanasi exporters

Varanasi: After Britain’s exit from European Union (EU) followed by crash of pound, it’s a wait-and-watch situation for exporters and industrialists in Varanasi, which exports a wide range of goods like carpet, silk fabrics and handicraft and jewellery items to Britain and other EU countries.
According to a rough estimates, the total value of exports from Varanasi and surrounding areas is about Rs 8500 crore.Carpets alone account for Rs 7,000 crore. Goods are mainly sent abroad through exporters based in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
“Brexit may adversely affect the export from Varanasi. It is not a good news for the local economy. But we have to assess the situation to see its impact,” an industrialist and divisional chairman of Indian Industries Association (IIA) RK Chowdhary said.
According to him, approximately 10% volume of the exported goods goes to Britain. An exporter Ashok Kapoor also believes that Brexit may adversely impact the export of carpet and silk from Varanasi. “There is good demand of Banarasi products in Britain,” he said, adding that the prevailing situation is not favourable for Indian exporters and economy.
The instability prevailing after the development may harm the prospects of export-oriented products of this region, which has emerged as a hub of geographical indication (GI) certified goods, a GI expert Rajni Kant said. Goods like carpet, brocade, metal craft, decoratives and other goods worth around Rs 400 crore were exported annually to Britain.
This region has produced seven GI-tagged goods which are Banarasi brocade and sarees, handmade carpet of Bhadohi, Banaras gulabi meenakari craft, Varanasi wooden lacquerware and toys, Mirzapuri handmade dari, Nizamabad black clay pottery and Banaras metal craft.