Two significant trade and export policy developments this week offer a window into India’s long-term strategy for diversifying and deepening its export base — even as the short-term landscape is dominated by the disruption of the Hormuz crisis.
Government data has revealed that Bharuch, the Gujarat-based industrial cluster, now accounts for nearly 19 per cent of India’s total chemical exports — a striking concentration of export value in a single district that underscores both the strength of Bharuch’s chemical manufacturing ecosystem and the potential vulnerability that comes with geographic concentration of a critical export sector. The district is home to major chemical, petrochemical, and specialty chemical units supported by dedicated industrial estates, robust road and rail connectivity, and close proximity to key ports on India’s western coast including Bharuch’s own Dahej Port.
Chemical Exports and Port Connectivity
Bharuch’s dominance in chemical exports is intimately linked to its logistics infrastructure, particularly its proximity to Dahej Port — one of India’s largest bulk liquid terminal complexes — which handles significant volumes of chemical and petrochemical cargo. The cluster’s export performance also benefits from connectivity to Mundra and Hazira ports, providing multiple gateway options for international shipments. The ongoing Hormuz crisis, which has disrupted chemical cargo flows to the Gulf, is being felt in Bharuch’s export community alongside the broader national exporter distress.
Districts as Export Hubs: 590 Plans, 249 Notified
In a parallel development, the government’s flagship Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative has reached a significant coverage milestone, with Draft District Export Action Plans (DEAPs) prepared for 590 districts across India. Of these, 249 have been formally notified by District Export Promotion Committees (DEPCs) — the local bodies established in each district to identify export opportunities, resolve bottlenecks, and drive district-level export strategies. State Export Promotion Committees (SEPCs) are now in place across all 36 States and Union Territories.
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada informed Parliament that the DEH initiative is building institutional mechanisms to drive grassroots export growth from India’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities and rural production clusters — an important complement to the large metropolitan and port-city export hubs that have historically dominated India’s trade statistics. By enabling smaller manufacturers, agricultural processors, and artisan producers in non-metro districts to access export markets systematically, DEH has the potential to significantly broaden the base of India’s export economy.
Piyush Goyal Urges FTA Leverage
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal added urgency to the export policy discussion by urging Indian industry to more aggressively leverage India’s Free Trade Agreements to access developed markets. Speaking to industry stakeholders, Goyal highlighted that India’s recently concluded and ongoing FTAs — including CEPA with the UAE, ECTA with Australia, and the prospective India-UK and India-EU agreements — offer significant tariff advantages that Indian exporters are not yet fully capitalising on. He stressed that manufacturers must align with global quality, sustainability, and compliance benchmarks to translate FTA market access into actual export growth.
