J&K must create new exporters: CM

Srinagar, Jun 29: Stating that Jammu and Kashmir must create a new generation of exporters and diversify its export basket to achieve the Union Government’s target of doubling exports by 2030, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the government will focus on making exports easier, expanding global market access and ensuring export growth reaches every district of the Union Territory.
The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressed the inaugural session of the J&K International Buyer-Seller Meet organised by the J&K Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO) at SKICC here.
Omar who was the chief guest on the occasion, said, “As the Government of India has set a target of doubling exports by 2030, we have only four years to achieve it. While we have to support those who are already exporting, we also need to create exporters out of people who are not exporting today and whose markets are presently confined to Jammu and Kashmir or, at best, some parts of the country. Our effort is to make exporting easier for them,” the CM said.
The Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir has historically been an exporter, though not through conventional export channels.
“Traditionally, particularly in Kashmir, our buyers came to us. They came in the shape of tourists, bought our products and carried them back to different parts of the world. In every sense, those purchases were exports. We rarely relied on organised buyer-seller meets or handicraft fairs because buyers automatically came to Kashmir. Many lifelong relationships between artisans and buyers were built that way,” he said.
He, also said prolonged disturbances and the decline in tourism forced artisans to completely change their business model. “When dark clouds emerged and tourism almost dried up, our artisans had to innovate. They packed their products, travelled across the country and the world and rebuilt the linkages that had once come naturally,” he said.
Omar said buyer-seller meets were initiated during his tenure in the Union Commerce Ministry to reconnect Jammu and Kashmir’s producers with domestic and international buyers.
“When I was in the Commerce and Industry Ministry, Government of India, we started organising buyer-seller meets in Jammu and Srinagar to build relationships between buyers, manufacturers and artisans. This event is another step in that direction,” he said.
Highlighting this year’s event, the Chief Minister said, they have gone one step further this time. “Earlier these buyer-seller meets were largely confined to traditional handicraft exporters. Now we have opened the doors for self-help groups, particularly women from far-flung rural areas, giving them direct access to international buyers and new business opportunities” he said.
The Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir’s exports continue to remain concentrated in only a few districts. “Nearly 98 per cent of our exports come from Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Srinagar. The remaining districts account for only two per cent. The challenge before us is how to increase the number of exporters and spread exports across every region of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Welcoming more than 30 foreign buyers from around 14 to 15 countries, the CM said the gathering offers an opportunity to understand international market demand. “It gives us an opportunity to understand what global buyers are looking for and tailor our products accordingly. We have to create products that buyers simply cannot refuse,” he said.
He said the introduction of the “Know Your Artisan” initiative would help international buyers connect with the people behind Jammu and Kashmir’s renowned handicrafts.
The Chief Minister also stressed the need for establishing a dry port in Jammu and Kashmir to simplify export procedures and ensure exports originating from the Union Territory are officially credited to J&K.
“We urgently need a dry port. Our goods are exported from here but are stamped elsewhere, because of which exports are credited to another state. There is a difference between the export figures maintained by the Government of India and those of the J&K Government because our products are processed outside the Union Territory,” he said. (KNO)