The country's Handicraft exports grew by 11 percent to 227 million US dollars in April this year, on account of rising demand from new markets like China, Latin America and West Asia. According to the data provided by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), exports stood at 204 million US dollars in April, 2011.EPCH Executive Director, Rakesh Kumar said, the demand, however, is still weak in the US and European markets that are witnessing sluggish economic growth. The US and Europe together account for over 60 per cent of the country's total handicraft exports. Among the items that registered the maximum growth in exports in April were wood wares that saw a rise of 50 per cent, followed by imitation jewellery at 39 per cent, shawls as art wares 31 per cent and miscellaneous items 12 per cent. The Council expects handicraft exports to touch 3.2 billion US dollars in the current fiscal. During 2011-12, these exports had touched 2.75 billion US dollars. Moradabad, Jaipur, Saharanpur, Jodhpur and Narsapur are the major handicraft hubs catering to world markets, employing one million people.