Assam: Agri, wickerwork product exports to surpass Rs 10,000 crore in 3 years

 Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Assam government will surpass the Rs 10,000 crore mark in exports by 2026–27, said the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) in its study.

In 2022–23, Assam successfully exported wicker handicrafts and agriculture products worth around Rs 4,000 crore, despite a lack of export infrastructure within the state.

According to the Economic Survey, Assam’s strategic geographical location serves as the key gateway for exports to East and Southeast Asian nations as well as countries within the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) regions. The state is seamlessly connected to Asian Highway No. 1, which links India with Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

The key export destinations of Assam are the Middle East, the UK, the US, Bangladesh, and various Southeast Asian nations.

According to sources, in the recent past, the demand for organic agriculture products, apart from the wicker handicrafts of Assam, has been on the rise. The state boasts 11 items with GI (Geographical Indication) tags, such as Assam tea, Assam silk, Joha rice, Assam lemon, Karbi Anglong zinger, etc.

Apart from these, spices, bhooth jalakia, litchis, pine apple, turmeric, black rice, red rice, etc. have high demand in the international markets. In 2022–23, the state’s export of Assam tea was worth Rs 1984 crore, and that of silk was worth Rs 2.24 crore.

In order to boost exports, the Industries and Commerce Department of the state took several initiatives, like organising stakeholders’ meetings for identifying and resolving problems of entrepreneurs dealing with exports; border trade awareness programmes organised at Dhubri, Karimganj, Baksa, Chirang, etc.; and organising buyer-seller meetings in association with government agencies.

Apart from these, the central government has set up export centres (Niryat Kendras) in almost every district post office in the state for easy exports of products by small producers.

 Also Read: Assam: Sale and exhibition of handicraft organized in Nalbari

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