Trade bodies and exporters in Rajasthan have requested the newly formed Bhajan Lal Sharma-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to set up a task force to boost exports from the state.
The task force should work as a facilitator to provide benefits from establishing exportable units to export promotion schemes, said Prem Biyani, executive president of Akhil Rajya Trade & Industry Association, Rajasthan (ARTIA), a state-based trade body.
“The state has Rajasthan Export Promotion Council (REPC) to promote exports and support export-oriented industries in Rajasthan. However, it works more like a government agency with a very slow pace. So we want a task force that has representatives from government, trade and business, which can listen to exporters’ problems and try to solve them at the earliest,” Biyani said.
According to available government data, exports from Rajasthan touched Rs 70,000 crore in the 2022-2023. Trade pundits expect it to reach Rs 80,000 crore in 2023-2024.
Rajasthan, geographically the largest state in the country and a leader in production of agricultural and mineral products, was far behind Gujarat and Maharashtra in terms of country’s exports, said Biyani.
“To bring Rajasthan in competition, the present government should take the initiative and create a task force focusing specifically on exports,” he added.
Rajiv Singh, an exporter based in Jodhpur, said that it was sad that the state’s share in the country’s total exports was about only two per cent despite it being the topmost producer of some agricultural commodities and also a leading state in gems and jewellery, and handicrafts.
“We expect the new government to look into the bottlenecks affecting exports and try to resolve them as soon as possible,” Singh said.
Rajasthan is one of the top producers of mustard, moth beans, bajra, guar, and Isabgol.
The state contributes over 43 per cent to the country’s total mustard production and over 70 per cent in guar production.