In this article, we will look at the world’s largest handicraft exporters. To see the full free list, see “The 13 Largest Handicraft Exporting Countries in the World.”
According to a recent report, the global handicrafts market size is valued at over $1 trillion in 2023. Asia Pacific dominates the market with 36.3% of the total market, followed by North America, which is seeing an increase in handicrafts imports from Asian countries. The industry is expected to reach $2.39 trillion by 2032, experiencing a CAGR of 10.11%, owing to the increasing trend of home décor and international travel recovering to pre-pandemic levels.
Homeowners are increasingly investing in personalizing and improving their living spaces. According to a report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, American households have spent more than $150 billion on home renovations since 2019. In addition, the rise of do-it-yourself (DIY) culture in the United States has also become popular, encouraging many to personalize their homes. Meanwhile, the rise in international travel has led to a surge in demand for handicrafts. Tourists often ask for locally made crafts, souvenirs, and products to bring back from the countries they visit.
The US craft market
The US handicraft market size is expected to reach $294 billion in 2023 and exceed $600 billion by 2032 as interest in diverse traditions, craftsmanship, and appreciation of cultures grows. Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) is one of the leading companies in the US market. This e-commerce company sells handicrafts, vintage, and craft items (craft supplies, jewelry, art pieces, bags, clothing, decorations, etc.). The company organizes handicraft fairs where sellers can set up shop with a designated fee per item.
As of 2024, Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) has over 96 million active buyers, 9 million sellers, and over 100 million items available for sale. In 2023, the company posted gross merchandise sales (GMS) of $13.2 billion, with revenue of $2.7 billion, up 7% year over year. In the first quarter of 2024, Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) slightly missed Wall Street’s GMS and profit expectations due to lower demand for handmade goods on its marketplace and increased competition from smaller rival platforms such as Temu. EPS was 48 cents versus expectations of 49 cents.
Despite the share price decline, investors remain confident in the company’s long-term potential. ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy said the following about Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
The story continues
Online marketplace Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) also saw its performance falter as consumer product preferences fell short of market expectations. But with its dominant market share, lack of direct competitors, and the backing of a new activist investor, we believe the company has a strong opportunity to reaccelerate growth and increase profit margins by unlocking greater economic benefits from its interactive marketplace for artisanal goods.
Another major player in the handicraft market is Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), a leading US online retailer with over 2.5 billion monthly visitors. In 2015, the company launched Amazon Handmade for businesses specializing in handmade products. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) does not disclose the platform’s financials, but on its fifth anniversary in 2020, it announced that more than 100 makers on Amazon Handmade had surpassed $1 million in annual sales.
The company also stated that the number of active makers on Amazon Handmade has increased by 750% during this period, and the global assortment has increased by 2000%.One of the benefits sellers experience with Amazon Handmade is the huge potential reach, considering that Amazon is one of the most visited websites in the U.S. Additionally, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) does not charge listing fees either, and only pays if a sale is made.
World’s largest exporter of handicrafts
Andrea Melling/Shutterstock.com
methodology
The world’s largest handicraft exporters are ranked in ascending order of export trade volume. Data is collected from multiple independent sources for each country, taking into account the most recent year for which export volume data is available for each country.
China is the world’s largest exporter of handicrafts.
1. China
Exports: Over $5 billion
Although information on the volume of Chinese handicraft exports is scarce, most industry experts agree that China is the world’s largest exporter of handicrafts, with trade estimated at more than $5 billion. These handicrafts are primarily exported from Beijing to the United States, Japan, South Korea, India, and Europe. Handmade carpets, silk embroidery, lamps, bracelets, jewelry, wooden products, glass mirrors, and table and kitchen accessories are the country’s major handicraft exports. Chinese crafts are also popular with tourists visiting the country, with an estimated $500 million worth of handicrafts sold each year to tourists looking to take home souvenirs from their trip.
To learn more about other major handicraft exporting countries, check out our in-depth report “Top 13 Largest Handicraft Exporting Countries in the World.”
At Insider Monkey, we delve into a variety of topics, from handicraft exports to other business aspects of the industry, but our specialty is identifying the best-performing stocks. Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) technology stands out as one of the most promising sectors. If you’re looking for AI stocks that are more promising than NVDA but still trade for less than five times its earnings, check out our report on the cheapest AI stocks.
Read next: Analyst sees new $25 billion ‘opportunity’ in NVIDIA, Jim Cramer recommended these 10 stocks in June.
Disclosures: None. This article originally appeared on Insider Monkey.
