Uttar Pradesh’s merchandise exports surge 32% to Rs 60,578 crore

Despite weak economic sentiment in key international markets, the Uttar Pradesh merchandise exports have surged 32 per cent year-on-year to Rs 60,578 crore during the April-July 2022 period.

The state exported goods worth Rs 45,861 crore during April-July 2021.

“Uttar Pradesh is ahead of some major states, including Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, and Odisha, in terms of growth in exports even as the corresponding growth rate of eight Indian states even went negative,” a government spokesperson said.

The states that saw their exports nosedive into a negative territory include Uttarakhand, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Jharkhand, etc.

Uttar Pradesh registered an upswing in exports of an array of labour-intensive segments, such as electrical machinery/equipment, meat, textiles, footwear, vehicles/auto parts, etc.

The electrical machinery/equipment segment grew nearly 90 per cent with shipments jumping to Rs 13,606 crore in the April-July 2022 from Rs 7,202 crore in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, the UP government is targeting to increase merchandise exports from the current level of Rs 1.56 trillion to Rs 3 trillion in the next three years.

The micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector contributes the maximum of more than 70 per cent to the UP export basket.

The state has witnessed a surge in shipments, especially after the government implemented its flagship One District One Product scheme, which is aimed at reviving the indigenous industries through financial infusion, capacity building and marketing support.

Now, the state is developing each of its 75 districts as export hubs to provide impetus to shipments. Of the 50 pan-Indian districts selected by the Centre to develop as model export hubs under a pilot project, six belong to UP, namely Moradabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Bhadohi, Agra, and Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida).

Moreover, the UP government is striving for import substitution to bolster the domestic industries and create job opportunities.

During fiscal year 2021-22, UP had clocked merchandise imports worth more than Rs 55,000 crore via dry ports (railway and road cargo terminals directly linked with domestic seaports).

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has mandated the MSME department to identify top merchandise imports, which could be substituted with indigenous production.

The state has identified 95 items constituting its import basket, of which four dozen items account for imported value ranging from Rs 100 to over Rs 10,000 crore. These include industrial and engineering products, chemical, minerals, precious stones, agricultural/food processing items, etc.