Jammu & Kashmir Trade Promotion Organization (JKTPO) in association with Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) today organised an “Interactive webinar on boosting exports from Jammu”.The session was organised as a part of DGFT’s “District as Export Hub” Initiative where Jammu district has been identified for a pilot study which FIEO is undertaking.Director Industries & Commerce Jammu, Anoo Malhotra,; Director, Handloom & Handicrafts Department, Jammu, Vikas Gupta; Manager, JKTPO, Chaitanya Sharma; FTDO Jammu, Neeraj Sharma; Business Excellence Support Team, DGFT Jammu, Aruna Narula; Director, FIEO, Prashant Seth, and Northern Head, FIEO, Nirmala Tete, were part of the event.The session was attended by various stakeholders from diverse sectors from Jammu. They include VKC NUTS PVT. LTD., Vijay Jain; President, Federation of Industries Jammu Lalit Mahajan; President Associated Container Terminals Limited (ACTL) RR Joshi; Jammu & Kashmir Walnut Exporters Association, President, Gagan Jain; MD, Sarveshwar Rice, Rohit Gupta; Partner Prevest DenPro Limited, Atul Modi and Tara Resource Group, Kapil Sharma.The Director, Industries & Commerce Department, in her address, elaborated at length about the various initiatives taken by the department to facilitate trade. She mentioned key products of the district which hold export potential, including carpet machining, Basoli painting, walnut, honey, wool based textile, pharma and rice. She also highlighted the vast production of lavender, which can also be explored for value addition by extracting oil for export purpose.
On the initiative to tap potential of e-commerce exports, she apprised that the discussions are being held with players like flipkart and understanding with them to take onboard local artisans shall be worked out in due course of time. She opined that a dedicated zone may also be considered by DGFT for boosting exports from the district.Director, Handloom & Handicrafts Department, Jammu also provided a comprehensive insight on the training facilities provided by their office, as over 3000 students have been trained in this sector. The department has been undertaking initiatives for encouraging self-sufficiency in this field. Initiatives in terms of infrastructure, establishment of CFC’s, handloom haat, park, etc. are also undertaken by the department.The Director, FIEO delivered a presentation, providing an overview of the study including objective, approach and key actionable areas to be deliberated upon. He mentioned that in 2018-19, Jammu & Kashmir registered an export value worth U$196.43 mn, witnessing a positive CAGR of 6.33% during 2014-15 to 2018-19. While briefing about the export trends, he highlighted that major export commodities from the state include Drug Formulations, RMG wool, carpet, cotton yarn and basmati rice. He noted as well as addressed some of the concerns projected by the traders and also urged the respective directors and participants for providing their valuable inputs for facilitating exports from the district.The major concerns highlighted in the meeting included high logistics cost, absence of food grade labs, phytosanitary fumigation facility, ICD and awareness of schemes. The traders also suggested strengthening the presence of DGFT in Jammu.