How wooden décor is made in India
Woodware is the largest of EPCH's handicraft export groups: ₹7,160.96 crore in FY2025-26, from DGCI&S data. Two Towns of Export Excellence for handicrafts lead it. Saharanpur is known for carving, and "Saharanpur Wood Craft" is a registered Geographical Indication (application 184, certificate dated 31 March 2014). Jodhpur makes wooden décor alongside its furniture, often from the same timber.
Products include carved wall panels, bowls and platters sold as décor, candle stands, figurines, frames, boxes, trays, beads and turned objects. The making differs from furniture in ways that change the risks:
- Small sections dry fast and unevenly. A carved bowl or figurine cut from a thick block can still be wet at the core when it is finished. It cracks as it dries in a heated home.
- Offcuts are often used. Woodware is a good use of furniture offcuts, which may include sapwood. Sapwood is where mould and beetles start.
- Carving is piece work. Many hands carve the same design. Depth, symmetry and detail drift across a large order unless jigs, templates or a master sample are used.
- Finishes vary. Lacquer, wax, oil, stain, paint or a whitewash, applied by hand and sometimes packed before fully cured.
What we check on wooden décor
| Check | How it is checked | What fails |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture content | Pin meter on the thickest part of each sampled piece and on pieces from the bottom of the stack | Readings above the limit in your order |
| Cracks and splits | End grain, carved recesses, turned bases and glue joints | Open cracks, hairlines at the base, cracks filled with putty or sawdust and glue |
| Insects | Surfaces looked at for exit holes; tapped over a dark sheet to see if fine powder (frass) falls | Fresh holes with pale powder: live infestation |
| Mould and stain | Undersides, insides of boxes, carton corners; smell | Grey or green bloom, black spots, musty odour |
| Carving | Sampled pieces lined up next to the master sample; template on repeated motifs | Shallow or missing detail, lopsided faces, a different motif from the sample |
| Finish | Daylight comparison with the colour reference; fingernail and thumb press for tackiness; smell | Colour outside range, sticky or soft finish, strong solvent smell |
| Construction | Glued parts, hangers and bases pushed by hand; pieces set on a flat surface | Loose glued parts, a figurine that rocks, a wall panel hanger that pulls out |
Common wooden décor and carved woodware defects and how they are classed
| Defect | Typical class | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Live insect infestation | Critical | Can spread to the rest of the load and trigger quarantine action |
| Mould on goods or inside cartons | Major (critical if widespread) | Grows in transit; often affects a whole batch |
| Open crack or badly filled crack | Major | Opens further after delivery |
| Moisture above the limit | Major | Predicts cracks and mould |
| Tacky finish, strong odour | Major | Wrap sticks; customer complaints |
| Carving variation beyond the agreed range | Major or minor | Depends on how visible and how far from the sample |
| Natural knots, small grain variation | Not a defect if agreed | Say so in the order |
Badly filled cracks are a real finding in wood from this region. In Sample 04 (Jodhpur, January 2023), cracks in wood and poor crack filling were among the major defects that led to a Not cleared verdict on a furniture order.
Market rules that apply
- EU Deforestation Regulation. Wood marquetry, caskets, statuettes and other wooden ornaments (HS 4420) are listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115. The EU operator needs a due-diligence statement with the geolocation of the timber's origin. It applies from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators and from 30 June 2027 for micro and small operators, except for wood products already covered by the EU Timber Regulation, such as wooden furniture, where micro and small operators must also comply from 30 December 2026. See EUDR.
- US Lacey Act. Illegally sourced wood is banned in any product, and a species and country-of-harvest declaration is needed for codes on the APHIS schedule. Check the code for your items; see Lacey Act.
- Packing wood. Crates and pallets must meet ISPM 15, with the mark on the wood.
- Board parts. An MDF back on a wall panel or an MDF box base brings in TSCA Title VI in the US.
- Food use. A bowl or board sold for food needs a food-safe finish and food-contact compliance; décor pieces should say "decorative only".
Packing, transit and loading risks
- Mould in sealed polybags. Wood packed above its moisture limit, then sealed in plastic, can grow mould during the voyage. Dry wood, breathable first wrap and desiccant reduce the risk.
- Fumigation timing. If the goods are fumigated, it should be after final packing, with a certificate that names the lot. Fumigating bare goods and then packing them in an untreated godown does little.
- Breakage. Thin carved edges and figurine hands snap. Pieces need individual wrap and dividers, not loose fill.
- Odour. A finish packed before it has cured traps solvent smell in the carton.
What to put in your purchase order
- Timber species for every part, country of harvest and any MDF or plywood parts.
- Maximum moisture content at packing.
- Carving reference: master sample, photos and the variation you accept.
- Finish, colour range, cure time before packing, and food-safe or decorative-only status.
- No sapwood on visible faces if you want even colour; no putty filling of cracks.
- Fumigation and ISPM 15 requirements, and the documents you need for EUDR or Lacey.
Timber issues in larger pieces are covered on solid wood furniture, mango wood furniture and sheesham wood furniture. Book an inspection.