Uttar Pradesh has potential to achieve merchandise exports of US$ 30 billion: Exim Bank
BY VIRENDRA SINGH RAWAT
LUCKNOW (biznewsconnect.com): Uttar Pradesh has the potential to achieve merchandise exports of US$ 30 billion in the short to medium term, according to a report by India Exim Bank.
The report has suggested the state to diversify its export basket and take immediate steps for capacity building of a few industry segments to harness its full potential.
Meanwhile, UP witnessed a jump of more than 32 percent in exports from US$ 12.4 billion in 2015-16 to US$ 16.4 billion in 2020-21. In fact, the annual average growth rate in exports by UP stood at 6 per cent, which is more than double compared to the all-India average of 2.4 percent over the five-year period.
The report said the ‘significant growth’ in shipments could be partly attributed to a conducive policy environment for manufacturing and exports. In 2020-21, UP ranked 5th in the league of Indian states in terms of the value of shipments, and the state figures among the largest exporters across several categories.
In 2020-21, merchandise exports from UP posted a year-on-year decline of 3.5 percent, after several consecutive years of growth, largely on account of the Covid-19 associated disruptions to international trade. “The decline in merchandise exports from the state during the year was relatively muted as compared to the decline in merchandise exports from India as a whole.”
Major products in the UP export basket comprise telecom instruments (15 percent), buffalo meat (11.4 percent), iron and steel products (3.8 percent), aluminium/aluminium products (3.7 percent), readymade cotton garments (3.7 percent), and readymade manmade fibre garments (3.7 percent) etc.
In 2020-21, the state accounted for 90 percent of saddlery exports. In several other categories viz. silk carpet, processed meat, buffalo meat, sheep/goat meat, telecom instruments and finished leather, the state accounted for over half of the exports. The sports goods segment is also an important export item with the state accounting for nearly a third of the overall exports from India.
While sectors in which UP is traditionally strong shall continue to be important from the exports perspective, there is a need to diversify the exports basket to impart much needed resilience to exports. In the short to medium term, the focus of the exports strategy should be on the product champion sectors where the state possesses comparative advantage.
“Alongside, the state needs to provide incentives for encouraging capacity building in the underachiever products where the global market demand is growing but the state’s exports are currently not competitive,” the report suggested.
