Ever wondered what happens to hair shaved off and offered at Thirupathi? Or to the hair cut at Salons? Many of us may have an idea that it goes for making hair wigs, clip-ons, wefts, hair extensions, etc. But at what scale? Did you know that it has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry! India alone exports nearly INR 2,500 crore worth of hair every year. Globally, China is the largest exporter of hair exporting over INR 30,000 crore worth of hair every year.
To give you a brief idea, Human Hair is basically classified as remy and non-remy. Remy being the hair that has not been treated with any chemicals. Remy hair is demanded by the European countries whereas non-remy hair is mostly exported to China. The value of hair essentially depends on its length, thickness, strength and whether it has been chemically treated or not. The hair to be of any use should be of minimum length of 4 inches. The price of your hair can range from INR 3,000 per kg to INR 24,000 per kg. So next time you go for a hair color, think about its depreciating value ;)
Hair exports from India
From where in India is maximum hair exported? Well there are no awards for answering that one. It is ofcouse, Vishakhapatnam, which exports hair offered at Tirupathi. In year 2014-15, it exported human hair worth INR 700 crores! Other Indian cities that participate significantly in hair exports are Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Source: EXIM data from www.tofler.in
Who buys all these hair
The major importers of Indian hair are China, United States of America, Hong Kong, Italy and UAE. These countries use these hair to make wigs, hair extensions, wefts etc for beauty purposes and for cancer patients.
Source: EXIM data from www.tofler.in
India also imports human hair form other countries. This is mainly from Romania and China. Infact, the industry and demand for human hair is so huge that the Industry is already facing issues of smuggling of human hair and associations are working towards curbing it.
So the next time you think about donating your kidney to buy your new Iphone, consider donating your hair. They may suffice 😉
Author – Anchal, founder at Tofler, is a CA, CS and has more than 5 years experience in company analysis. She likes to explore interesting stories hidden in commercial transactions and write about them.
