Uttar Pradesh seeks larger chunk of India’s exports with new destinations in emerging markets in era of Trump tariffs

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh, the second-largest state economy and the second-largest contributor of GST collections, is revamping its export policy with the aim of almost tripling the state’s outbound shipments by adding new destinations in emerging markets such as Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The state government is likely to approve the new export policy for 2025-30 shortly, aligning with the Central government’s push to diversify export destinations amid shifting geopolitical dynamics, three people said on condition of anonymity.

“Our aim is to increase UP’s contribution in the country’s overall exports substantially and the proposed policy will be a step in that direction,” UP minister for industrial development and export promotion Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’ told Mint without revealing the details of the draft policy.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath wants to position the state as a major trade player, targeting exports of over ₹5 trillion by 2030 compared with ₹1.7 trillion in FY24. In dollar terms, exports are expected to grow to $61.5 billion over the next five years from $20.5 billion in FY24.

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The proposed export policy aims to strengthen the presence of Uttar Pradesh’s products in emerging markets, notably Latin America and Eastern Europe, given that US reciprocal tariffs are disrupting trade globally.

Uttar Pradesh contributed about 5% of India’s total goods exports of $433.09 billion in FY24. The push signals the state’s intention to play a larger role in the country’s export growth by leveraging its industrial base, improving logistics, and tapping into global markets more aggressively.

Incentives and subsidies

“To make the policy more attractive and investor-friendly, the new export strategy will offer incentives such as capital subsidies for developing export-related infrastructure,” one person said. “The policy is in the final stage and a cabinet note is being prepared and is likely to be presented before the cabinet this month.”

“The proposed new policy also proposes the creation of a one-stop digital information hub to provide exporters with comprehensive and up-to-date information needed to access global markets," the second person said. “The new export policy 2025-30 is likely to provide up to ₹10 crore as capital subsidy to investors to build export infrastructure.”

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Uttar Pradesh exports a diverse range of products – electrical machinery and equipment, meat and meat products, apparel and clothing accessories, footwear, pearls and precious stones, iron and steel products, carpets, road vehicles and their parts, furniture and fittings, aluminium products, leather goods, organic chemicals, plastics, and cereals. These products are exported to the US, the UK, Germany, the UAE, China, Japan, and Southeast Asian and African countries.

“Under the policy, a dedicated export promotion fund will be set up, which will be used for promoting Brand UP at global conferences and will also provide aid up to ₹5 lakh to exporters towards payment of yearly premium under the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC),” the third person said.

The UP government is also said to be planning to increase the aid given to each exporting unit to ₹25 lakh annually against ₹16 lakh currently. Incentives of up to ₹30 lakh per year are likely to be offered for logistics support to help transport goods to gateway ports.

A grant of up to ₹10 lakh annually will be provided to each unit to cover aircraft loading expenses, according to the draft of the policy, which Mint reviewed.

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Uttar Pradesh’s exports amounted to ₹1,70,340.88 crore in FY24, or 4.71% of the country’s total.

The state’s GST collections stood at ₹84,264 crore in FY25, marking a 10% increase from ₹76,649 crore in FY24, according to data from the finance ministry. Maharashtra topped the chart with GST collections of ₹1,72,379 crore in FY25.