Even though exports from Haryana have gone up by 30% in the first half of the current fiscal, exporters are unhappy with the lack of infrastructure, the delay in the import facility at Panipat and the ?unfavourable? tax norms.
In 2007-08, Haryana achieved about 30% growth in exports, compared to 2006-07, and in the first half of this fiscal, the state is likely to maintain the growth despite the slow down.
Latest data compiled by the state government reveals that the state has recorded exports worth Rs 40,000 crore in 2007-08, where as in 2006-07, exports from the state stood at Rs 30,000 crore. In 2005-07, total exports from Haryana were worth Rs 25,000 crore.
For the fifty members of the Panipat Exporters? Association, which has an annual export turnover of Rs 2,000 crore, the non-availability of infrastructure for import at Babarpur, Panipat was a major hurdle for the exporters. Ajay Jindal, a textile exporter, told FE that though this area was notified in 2006, proper infrastructure like a railway hub, holding of empty containers, cranes, fork lifters and a separate warehouse are still not available.
Hisar district topped the exports with a share of 30% in overall export, followed by Panipat (18%), Karnal (11%), Gurgaon (10%), Sonepat (7%), Faridabad (6%) and Chandigarh (6%). The total exports from Hisar stood at Rs 2,520 crore, Panipat at Rs 1,490 crore, Karnal, at Rs 940 crore and Gurgaon, at Rs 844 crore. However, some districts including Panchkula, Rewari, Rohtak and Sonepat observed a fall in their exports compared to last year?s figures. The export of steel a share of 22% in the total exports from these districts, the report added. Other items included rice (18 %), handlooms and handicrafts (15%), textiles (8%) and medicines (7%).
Neighbouring Punjab recorded exports worth Rs 10,710 crore in 2007-08, compared to exports worth Rs 11,707 crore in 2006-07. The decline was evident in most export items like food products, textiles, handlooms and cycles. Cycle exports declined from Rs 1,434 crore to Rs 1,044 crore, while textiles showed a downfall from Rs 2,675 crore to Rs 2,227 crore. According to reports from Ludhiana, the manufacturing hub for textiles and cycles, the cycle industry would be the latest victim of the ongoing recession.