Data | Jamnagar to Kancheepuram: Mapping India’s export hotspots

District exports: Workers standing in the factory of car manufacturer Daimler. The Daimler factory in Chennai has been producing busses and lorries for the brands Mercedes Benz, BharatBenz and Fuso

Jamnagar in Gujarat is the top exporting district in India. It formed about 24% of India’s exports in value terms in FY23 (till January). Surat in Gujarat and Mumbai Suburban in Maharashtra feature second and third by a distance, forming only about 4.5% of the country’s exports in the period. The other districts in the top 10 are Dakshina Kannada (Karnataka), Devbhumi Dwarka, Bharuch and Kachchh (Gujarat), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu) and Gautam Buddha Nagar (Uttar Pradesh).

For instance, Kancheepuram formed 33% of Tamil Nadu’s exports, the highest share among all the districts in the State. Some top exporting districts formed only around 20% of a State’s exports. For example, Indore and Jaipur, the top exporting districts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, respectively, formed only 21% of their State’s total exports each. On the other hand, most top exporting districts in the northeastern States formed as much as 90% of a State’s exports. Gomati (Tripura), Ri Bhoi (Meghalaya) and East Sikkim (Sikkim) formed over 90% of their State’s exports. Districts such as Dakshina Kannada, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ernakulam formed about 40-50% of their respective State’s exports. In Map 1, the size of the circle corresponds to the district’s share in State’s exports. The bigger the circle, the higher the share of the district in the State’s exports.

Map 1

The map shows the district that formed the highest share of a State’s exports in FY23

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Jamnagar’s dominance can be attributed to the fact that it formed a lion’s share of India’s surging petroleum exports, while Kancheepuram’s most exported commodity was smartphones. Map 1 also lists the top exported commodity of the top exporting districts in each State. For instance, Kamrup, Assam’s top exporting district, exported tea the most; Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh exported smartphones the most; Raipur in Chhattisgarh exported parboiled rice the most; and Mumbai Suburban in Maharashtra exported diamond the most.

Map 2

The maps show the top five exporting districts for the top six commodities exported by India

Map 2A shows the top five exporting districts of petroleum products in FY23. Jamnagar at first position is followed by Dakshina Kannada and Begusarai. Map 2B shows the top five exporting districts of precious stones and jewellery which includes Surat, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Jaipur and Kolkata. Map 2C shows the top five exporting districts of rice, wheat and other cereals. Karnal leads the list, which also includes Raipur and East Godavari. Map 2D shows the top five exporting districts of smartphones and electronic parts. This list is led by Gautam Buddha Nagar followed by Kancheepuram, Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, and Kachchh. Map 2E shows the top five exporting districts of vehicles other than railways. Kancheepuram leads this list, which includes Pune, Gurugram, Anantapur and Aurangabad. Map 2F shows the top five exporting districts of pharmaceutical products: Medchal Malkajgiri, Ahmedabad, Ranga Reddy, Solan and Visakhapatnam.

Table 3

The table shows the share of the top exporting commodity of the top exporting district in India’s total exports

For instance, Jamnagar, Gujarat’s top exporting district, exported petroleum products the most. And Jamnagar’s petroleum products export formed 67% of India’s total exports for that commodity. Surat’s precious stones and jewellery exports formed 36% of India’s total exports for that commodity. Gautam Buddha Nagar’s smartphone exports formed 26% of India’s exports.

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Source: Export import dashboard of the Ministry of Commerce

Also read: Data | Gujarat refineries form a lion’s share of India’s surging petroleum exports

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