Handicraft is a part of almost every country where the artisans & craftsmen indulge in bringing forth the rich heritage of any country focusing on it's history, culture & tradition. In this context, the rich cultural countries of Asia as India, China are deeply immersed into the production of handicraft items which are in high demand in the global market. The rich vibrant, colorful items have helped in establishing a grand market for these products. There are several establishments engaged in the manufacturing of pottery, ceramics, clay pieces, paintings, sculptures, antique furniture, textiles, paper craft etc. which help in generating enough revenues for the handicraft industry. These industries do provide additional employment & overall accounts for a market share of more than US$100 billion.
While the Oceania countries mainly including Australia & New Zealand are equally very much into the handicraft's industry. Their industry is actually a bunch of many cottage industries which is indulged in the production of ceramic arts & crafts, jade jewelry, decorative hand blown glass, jewelry & paper crafts to name a few. The Australian government is spending nearly A$6.3 million per annum in this vast industry, since, it has grown enormously in the past few years. The total export was around A$300 million in 2006.
The US isn't far behind. It is infact one of the biggest & the most important contemporary market in the handicraft industry. It accounts for about US$13.8 billion & has an approx 127000 people employed in this world's largest industry.
Canada is also highly diversified & comprises of individual craft persons, studios, enterprises, media guilds, public and private galleries & industrial organizations. It accounted for a total of over $100 million exports & employs about 22,597 persons in the handicraft sector.
