Export
Export related Content for WBIDC Website
West Bengal's trade and commerce has always enjoyed prosperity given its strategic location and other advantages. The state has been playing an instrumental role in backing the trade story of the country in the global market through its significant export contribution and diverse products offerings. The state's exports have profoundly grown from USD 6.73 Billion in 2010-2011 to USD 13.9 Billion in 2021-22.
Bengal has been on a strong growth track since the last decade. The growth in the GSDP and FDI inflows could be attributed to the aggressive industrial activities and business-friendly ecosystem established in the state. During 2021-22, Bengal's GSDP grew at 12.82%, higher than the national average of 9.18%. On the other side, the state has been one of the most preferred investment destinations as it held 10th position in state-wide FDI equity inflows in FY 2022-23.
The Government of West Bengal's 'Development Model' has been the story of inclusive growth achieved through strategic, balanced, and focused government interventions for economic development and welfare measures. The wide array of sector specific innovative policies, regulatory mechanisms and delivery models have enabled the State to fulfil the aspirations of its investors and people.
Today, Bengal is home to 90 lakh MSME units, accounting for India's second highest number of MSMEs with 14% of India's total MSMEs with significant export potential. The volume of IT Exports from the state has grown from INR 8,335 crore in 2010-2011 to over INR 33,000 crores in 2022-23 indicating 3.96 times increase in 12 years.
The following few indicators unfold the Story of Bengal written in the last decade - which may attract the concerned investors in the relevant domain.
In addition to the above factors, Bengal's ease of doing business ecosystem adds huge value in terms of supporting the exports sector of the state. The state has taken up a wide range of initiatives to strengthen the regulatory mechanisms in order to aid the investors in their business activities and significantly reduce the average time to set up a business. These initiatives include Silpa Sathi - 24*7 digital Single Window Service for providing necessary statutory compliances, Jomir Tothya app to facilitate digitization of land records, etc. West Bengal has been among the leading states on the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) rankings, and it has been awarded as the best state for EoDB in the Skoch Governance Report, 2021.
Furthermore, adding to the sector dedicated policies, value chain availability, state's strategic location, expansive network of transportation & logistics infrastructure as given below, reduces the logistics cost and time of exporters, thereby, offering West Bengal a notable position in the Indian trade scenario.
It is important to highlight that the Government of West Bengal has started numerous conferences, trade fairs, seminars, business summits in the state to augment business synergies with key trade partners. In this direction, the Bengal Global Business Summit is a flagship event of the state to encourage trade and investments in the state. The 7th edition of BGBS summit was held on November, 21-22, 2023 in Kolkata, wherein more than 5000 delegates and 400 international delegates from nearly 40 countries (including 17 Partner Countries) across the globe participated in the event.
In today's times, the world is looking at India for its potential in strengthening the global supply chain. In this regard, West Bengal may play a crucial role in capitalizing on the opportunities offered by the global market and emerging as a key transit point for trade from India. The key emerging sectors of West Bengal are - New Port & Port-led ancillary industries, Warehousing & Logistics, Technology driven Digital Information Systems & Data Centres, Green Energy Solutions, and Electric Vehicles etc.
Top 10 Principal Commodities exported from West Bengal in FY 2022-23, along with the top 3 export markets, are as follows:
| Top 10 Export Commodity | Total Export Value in USD Million | % Share w.r.t. Total Export Value | Rank-wise Top 3 Export Destination Countries (1st from left-most 5th to right-most) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron and Steel | 1579.03 | 12.39% | Nepal | UAE | Bangladesh |
| Gold and Other Precious Metal Jewellery | 1323.27 | 10.38% | UAE | Singapore | USA |
| Products of Iron and Steel | 901.88 | 7.07% | USA | UAE | France |
| Leather Goods | 674.77 | 5.29% | USA | Germany | UK |
| Marine Products | 666.82 | 5.23% | China | USA | Japan |
| Petroleum Products | 633.11 | 4.97% | Nepal | Bhutan | Singapore |
| Rice (Other than Basmati) | 551.16 | 4.32% | Bangladesh | Vietnam | Benin |
| Human Hair Products | 488.81 | 3.83% | China | Myanmar | Vietnam |
| Cereals | 296.05 | 2.32% | Bangladesh | Bhutan | Nepal |
| Plastic Raw Materials | 251.21 | 1.97% | Bangladesh | Nepal | Japan |
Administrative and Institutional arrangements
The State has established the following institutional structure to facilitate the exports:
Authorized committee
- i. State Level Export Promotion Committee (SLEPC) under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary
- ii. District Export Promotion Committee (DEPC) under the chairpersonship of District Magistrate
Under the purview of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC):
- i. Export Promotion Cell (EPC)
- ii. Export Facilitation Centre (EFC)
Under the purview of Department of MSME&T:
- i. West Bengal State Export Promotion Society (WBSEPS)
- ii. MSME Facilitation Centers (MFCs)
Recently, a slew of measures have been taken by the State Government to boost the export potential of the State, including the formulation of a New Export Policy, aims to make Bengal the 'Global trading hub of India' by doubling the share of State in the country's total annual exports over the next decade (2023-33). Apart from that, Reconstitution of State Export Committee, Formation of International Trade & Logistics Sector Committee, New Industrial & Economic Corridor Policy, Suvidha Vehicles Facilitation System Portal, Boosting E-commerce based Exports, Emphasis on GI Tags, Establishment of Export Facilitation Centre (EFC) - all have gained accolades from stakeholders and industry leaders from national and international arena.
