The growing popularity of Odisha’s Konark form of statues and pattachitra (palm-leaf etching) in USA, Australia and Canada has promoted American etailer eBay to tie up with Odisha State Cooperative Handicraft Corporation to ensure a steady supply of these handicrafts across the world.
“eBay India’s partnership with Odisha State Cooperative Handicraft Corporation is our first state-level association. We are exploring similar partnerships with other bodies to enable their members to leverage eBay’s global reach,” Navin Mistry, head of retail exports at eBay India told ET.
“We were looking at retail exports of our handicrafts and eBay is expected to provide us with the right platform to reach out to global customers,” said OSCHC’s marketing officer MG Jena.
Mistry said the corporation sells some of the most finely crafted stones and statues, which have an extensive demand regionally and globally. “Their Konark statues are exclusive to Odisha and are not available anywhere” he said.