Despite COVID-19, Khadi industry witnesses strong sales worth Rs 3,079 crore in FY21

The number of artisans and khadi institutions are reported be at the highest level in five years at 2,790 institutions and 4.97 lakh artisans.

Khadi sales made a strong comeback in FY21 thanks to growing customer interest in ethnic wear and a strong online presence, making it one of the few sectors to escape the crushing blows of the pandemic.

As per the data by MSME dashboard, a total of 2,790 khadi institutions involving 4,97,089 artisans made sales worth Rs 3,079.13 crore in 2020-21, up from Rs 840.97 crore sales by 2,687 institutions involving 4,96,357 artisans.

Furthermore, as per the available data, Khadi sales in FY21 were at the second highest level in five years. The sales in the pandemic year have even superseded those made in the pre-pandemic years.

Meanwhile, the number of artisans and khadi institutions are reported be at the highest level in five years at 2,790 institutions and 4.97 lakh artisans.

The annual Khadi sales stood at Rs 2.146 in 2016-17, it increased to Rs 2,510 crore in 2017-18 and the reached the highest level of sales of Rs 3,215 crore in 2018-19. The sales; however, dropped to a record low of Rs 840.97 crore in 2019-20.

Ankur Bisen, Senior Vice President, Retail and Consumer Products, Technopak Advisors said, "KVIC has emerged as a strong brand in the FMCG sector over the years both in food and non food products like apparels, skincare etc. Furthermore, the FMCG segment in entirety did well even through the pandemic witnessing sectoral growth which too must have contributed."

"Secondly, a strong online presence too has helped it clock sales during COVID-19. Khadi products are not restricted to just brick and mortar outlets and are now available on websites like Amazon, Flipkart, 1 MG, BigBasket among others and has a website of its own. Moreover, Khadi is a strong brand which people associate comfort, so while people did not invest in going out clothes they did buy a lot of comfortable and the kind of clothes which people wear at home. It was offering exactly what the people were looking out for during especially during COVID," he added.

Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India said, “The government for the past few years has been aggressively marketing Khadi and Make in India campaign. Moreover over the past few years, India has witnessed a strong resurgence of ethnic clothing with several brands in the ethnic clothing space have performed well before Covid19 which too would have contributed to its popularity and sales sales.

According to Wahi, Khadi as a brand is widely associated with breathable and comfortable fabric hence it finds takers even during the summer season.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission on January 1, 2021 had launched its e-commerce portal, eKhadiIndia.com. It boasts of 50,000 products ranging from home decor, apparel to food products.

Since 2019, e- commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon have been focussing on handicrafts and artisanal products to help local artisans and small businesses to come into the e commerce fold by launching Flipkart Samarth and Amazon Karigar.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission is an apex body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Its main objective is to promote and assist the small scale industries in the rural areas to generate non-farm employment opportunities.

It undertakes activities like skill improvement, transfer of technology, research and development, marketing etc for small rural industries.