Despite Covid-19, Odisha sees huge jump in export turnover

ODISHA : Odisha has seen a big jump in export turnover in 2020-21 compared to the previous fiscal despite the adverse impact of Covid-19. Sources in the directorate of export promotion and marketing (DEPM) under the state MSME department said Odisha’s export turnover in the last fiscal is expected to cross Rs 74,000 crore, more than the Rs 51,742 crore it had generated in 2019-20.

“Odisha’s total merchandise export figure is estimated at Rs 65,717 crore by February 2021. If March figure are added (they are yet to come), it would be around Rs 69,000 crore. Besides, export of information technology (IT) products is expected to be around Rs 5,000 crore,” said a senior government official.

Comparative figures indicated a huge jump in export of metallurgical and mineral products compared to the previous fiscal.

Total value of minerals exported by the state till end of February is estimated at Rs 22,808 crore. This was Rs 14,627 crore in 2019-20. Similarly, metallurgical products like steel and aluminium worth Rs 32,904 crore were exported by February, compared to Rs 24,811 crore the fiscal before.

Experts in mining industry said the big jump could have been due to the demand for minerals in international market. “During the pandemic, the state government had allowed mining operation by listing it as an essential service. Also, port operations went on normally. These are some of the obvious reasons behind the growth in export of minerals from the state,” said Prabodh Mohanty, secretary, Eastern Zone Mining Association.

“Around 90% of minerals from Odisha are exported to China through various ports located in the state,” said an industry source.

Export of engineering, chemical and allied (Rs 6,757 crore), marine (Rs 2,875 crore), agriculture and forest (Rs 159 crore), textiles (Rs 167 crore), pharmaceuticals (Rs 7 crore), handicrafts (Rs 6 crore) and others (Rs 34 crore) added to the enhanced turnover. The state government said the conducive atmosphere created to promote exports through ease of doing business, implementation of 5T mechanism, infrastructure support and facilities for quality standardization helped in achieving the growth in exports.

“Though there was no direct revenue benefit to the state exchequer, the huge jump in export turnover shows growth of the state’s economy,” the government official added.

Source : The Times of India