Wednesday 16 Oct  -     arrive Mumbai
Thursday 17 Oct      -     Mumbaiwood
Friday 18 Oct            -     Mumbaiwood
Saturday 19 Oct       -     Mumbaiwood
Sunday 20 Oct          -    Travel to Jaipur
Monday 21 Oct         -    Morning factory visits, evening seminar & networking event
Tuesday 22 Oct         -    Factory visits
Wednesday 23 Oct   -    depart

* Optional, Wednesday, Oct 16th the AHEC team will visit the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (IHGF) in Noida, then travel to Mumbai. IHGF is a bi-annual show in Greater Noida for India’s furniture and handicrafts manufacturers to show their products to overseas buyers. It presents a good opportunity to see the types of products being made and how American hardwoods could fit production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Indian state of Rajasthan is where the majority of the country’s large wooden furniture and handicrafts sector is located and where there is substantial demand for hardwoods. The sector is currently using very large volumes of locally-sourced mango, acacia and sheesham (Dalbergia sissoo) for manufacturing an extensive range of solid wooden furniture and handicrafts, which are mainly destined for export to the United States, Europe and Australia. This industry is in need of new sources of hardwoods, due to the CITES listing (January 2017) of sheesham, as well as the diminishing quality of available mango and acacia. There is also a move from within the industry to become more contemporary and to offer a wider range of looks and finishes, as well as to provide assurances of legality and sustainability. This presents a huge opportunity for American hardwoods and a significant amount of interest has already been shown from some of the major players in the sector.

In general, the furniture manufacturing sector in India is growing and becoming more modern and organized. Opportunities for the consumption of American hardwoods are increasing and this is demonstrated by the latest export statistics from the USDA, which show a 213% increase in the volume of US hardwood lumber shipped to India during the first four months of 2019, as compared to last year.