Jaipur, Nov 6 The Rajasthan government is aiming to repeat the Gujarat export story by organising a first of its kind expo in the state which has been named as the Rajasthan International Expo.
While discussing the venue and date for the event in a meeting called recently in the state, senior officials discussed all possibilities to repeat the success story of Gujarat exports which tops the country's charts by contributing 30 per cent of exports from India.
If neighbouring states like Gujarat can top the list of states topping the export charts by clocking 30 per cent of the country's exports, why should Rajasthan lag behind on 12th rank?
This was the question being discussed while discussing the various parameters for the expo.
The meeting chaired by Rajasthan Export Promotion Council (Rajasthan Export Promotion Council) Chairman Rajiv Arora further discussed many interesting perspectives.
It was discussed that Rajasthan ranks first in EPI-2020 across landlocked states as well in production of moth beans, nutri cereal, garlic, mustard, bajra, guar gum, coriander and Isabgol, while it stands 2 in terms of the largest rail network in India as well as in terms of Mineral Producing State with 81 major and minor minerals.
Further, it is third in terms of the largest network of national highways, so there is a huge potential to increase export and employment.
More than Rs 71,999.72 crore of total exports was recorded in 2021-22 as compared to Rs 52,764 crore in 2020-21 (increase of 36.46 per cent in spite of Covid-19).
The state has a global recognition in exports of Handicrafts, Gems and Jewellery, Dimensional Stones, Engineering, Chemical and Agro products and Textiles. Around 31 lakhs export employment has been recorded as per EXIM Bank Report 2019, said officials in the meeting.
"The percentage of exports from the state has also increased significantly in the last few years. Having an international level expo will not only give a better market to the local products but will also create their identity, said Industries Commissioner Mahendra Parakh.
He further added that Rajasthan ranks 12th in the country in terms of exports. There is also a lot of potential for exports from the state. The percentage of exports from the state has also increased significantly in the last few years. Having an international expo will not only give a better market to the local products but will also create their identity.
In the meeting held at Udyog Bhawan in the capital Jaipur, there was extensive discussion on various topics, including setting up of testing lab of products, construction of Center of Excellence, introduction of council membership, boosting mission export among others.
Additional Chief Secretary Venu Gupta meanwhile said that after the Invest Rajasthan Summit, a different image of Rajasthan has emerged across the country.
It was informed in the meeting that all district collectors in 33 districts have been sent a presentation which clearly states that each district should be developed as an export hub.
This presentation states promoting traditional industries at local level, Identifying at least one product and service with export potential, enabling local artisans and producers to develop export quality material and fostering a balanced regional development across all districts of the state.
The presentation also directs collectors to focus on product development, packaging, marketing, quality and exports and it has been mentioned that priority is to be given to handloom and handicraft products.
Now with all these positives, will the state clock higher export rate is to be seen as officials, apprehensive on a few parameters, equally discussed the challenges from different perspectives.
They said that collecting data of buyers can be difficult as Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts EPCH is reportedly seeing them as its competitor and hence will shy away from sharing the same.
Also the other challenge is the unavailability of testing labs here due to which the product has to be sent to Hong Kong and other markets. The membership fee remains another issue and so is the fluctuating market facing recession in the US and the EU, and rupee depreciating.
Bharat Dinesh, member, REPC said, "The timing might be a challenge as recession is posing a threat to our exports. We were sending 30 containers in a month, which means one container daily has now been reduced to 15 containers a month."
"There will be a few teething challenges, but we will boost exports to script the success story of Gujarat which stays on top for years," said Parekh.
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