AP Chambers urges Centre to address issues of human hair industry

The Central Chamber of Commerce & Industry Federation (APCCIF) has called for urgent government intervention to tackle the difficulties faced by the Indian human hair processing and manufacturing sector. Potluri Bhaskar Rao, President of the chamber, made this plea in a submission to Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, highlighting the industry's struggles over the past seven to eight years due to continuous outflow of raw human hair without proper regulatory measures.

The industry currently suffers from a scarcity of high-quality raw material and surging input costs, and Rao expressed concerns about undervaluation, misdeclaration, and potential illegal cross-border movement of the raw material. With the present minimum export price (MEP) of around US$65 per kg (approximately ₹6,000), which is significantly lower than the domestic market prices of ₹13,000-₹15,000 per kg, there is a considerable risk of under-invoicing and untransparent trade practices.

According to Rao's estimates, the unchecked export of raw material results in the loss of domestic value addition, manufacturing opportunities, and employment. Madepalli and Eluru, two key hubs in Andhra Pradesh, currently support approximately 50,000 livelihoods in this sector. Rao stressed the significance of bolstering domestic manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, asserting that retaining the critical raw material within the country is essential for boosting value-added exports and enhancing India's global competitiveness in the sector.

He urged the government to review the existing export policy and licensing framework for raw human hair, strengthen valuation, monitoring, and enforcement mechanisms to prevent undervaluation and illegal movement, ensure sufficient availability of high-quality raw material for local manufacturers, and promote domestic processing, technology upgrades, and value-added exports.