The AP Chambers of Commerce & Industry Federation (APCCIF) has urged the Central government to make an immediate policy intervention to address the ongoing challenges faced by the Indian human hair processing and manufacturing industry.

Chambers president Potluri Bhaskar Rao stated in a representation submitted to Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal that the sector had been under severe stress for the past seven to eight years due to the continued outflow of raw human hair without adequate regulatory safeguards.

He pointed out that the industry was currently grappling with an acute shortage of quality raw material and a steep increase in input costs, and raised concerns regarding undervaluation, misdeclaration, and possible illegal cross-border movement of raw human hair.

The existing minimum export price (MEP) of approximately US$65 per kg (around ₹6,000), compared to prevailing domestic market prices of ₹13,000–₹15,000 per kg was creating significant scope for under-invoicing and non-transparent trade practices.

Mr. Rao said as per an estimate by the AP Chambers, the unchecked export of raw material was leading to a substantial loss of domestic value addition, manufacturing opportunities, and employment. He observed that Andhra Pradesh was a key hub for the industry with clusters such as Madepalli and Eluru, which support nearly 50,000 livelihoods.

Emphasising the importance of strengthening domestic manufacturing under Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, he stated that retaining this critical raw material within the country was essential for enhancing value- added exports and improving India’s global competitiveness in the sector.

He requested the government to review the existing export policy and licensing framework for raw human hair, strengthen valuation, monitoring, and enforcement mechanisms to curb undervaluation and illegal movement, ensure adequate availability of quality raw material for domestic manufacturers, and to promote domestic processing, technology upgradation and value-added exports.