New Delhi: Among varied overseas products exhibited at India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan, Afganistan’s Onyx stone craft may not have generated expected business this year but the glitter of every stone put in the stall were grabbing enough eyeballs of the visitors.
All the handmade crafts were designed using unique stones. The story was same with all crafts irrespective of weight and cost. The single-stone crafts put at the stall were designed as per the Indian tradition of home decoration style.
The unique designs included animals, birds, two-wheelers, kitchen pots, balcony decoration pots and many more crafts.
“We have been coming to trade fair from last five-six years and we knew that Indian families would mostly prefer stones designed for home decoration purpose. Hence, most of our products were designed to meet the purpose. All the products were designed using single stone,” said Saukat Ali, a citizen of Afganistan present at the stall said.
Telling more about Onyx Stone crafts, Ali told CitySpidey that these stones were brought from Afganistan and Baluchistan. “The products which have been displayed here are of small-size. We have not displayed big-size products because it could not attracted more customers because of high prices. But, overall we have got a good business this year too,” Ali added.
Afganistan was focus country in this year's trade fair. Its products – winter bearings, dry-foods and other crafts were in demand this year. Stalls showcasing Afganistan products were received good amount of customers every day.
According to the Afganistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), Afghanistan's Onyx is seven times more expensive than Pakistani marble.
