Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has logged a new benchmark in exports, surpassing the Rs 2 lakh crore mark for the first time in the last financial year, according to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
Exports reached Rs 2.01 lakh crore in 2025-26, up from Rs 1.86 lakh crore in 2024-25, the report said. The northern state now contributes 5.2 percent of India’s total exports which stood at Rs 39.04 lakh crore in 2025-26.
In the process, UP retained its position as the country’s fifth largest exporting state, behind Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Notably, UP has edged past Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to emerge as the leading exporting state in northern India.
The data—shared with ThePrint—show that UP’s export growth has been increasing over the last five years even as there was a slight decline in 2023-24. Consider this: It rose from Rs 1.57 lakh crore in 2021-22 to Rs 2.01 lakh crore in 2025-26, an overall growth of nearly 28 percent during the period.
Some of the factors attributed to the growth include expanding electronics manufacturing in the National Capital Region (NCR), strengthening MSME clusters, improved connectivity through expressways and growing global demand for products ranging from electronics and machinery to carpets, leather goods and processed food products.
“The state government has been aggressively promoting manufacturing, export-oriented industries, logistics infrastructure and the One District One Product (ODOP) programme. Uttar Pradesh now contributes 5.2 percent of India’s total exports, which stood at Rs 39.04 lakh crore during the same period,” a senior official at the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) told ThePrint.
The government’s focus on electronics manufacturing, MSMEs under ODOP helps in increasing the exports, the official added.
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District & sector performance
The district-wise breakup shows that Gautam Buddha Nagar district alone accounted for nearly half of the state’s exports. The district exported goods worth Rs 97,703 crore, driven primarily by mobile phone manufacturing, electronics and engineering industries. Ghaziabad, Kanpur Nagar, Moradabad, and Agra completed the list of the state’s top five exporting districts.
Traditional export centres also continued to perform strongly. Moradabad’s metal handicrafts, Bhadohi’s carpets, Agra’s footwear industry, Aligarh’s hardware sector and Unnao’s leather products maintained their presence in global markets. Several districts, including Sambhal, Sonbhadra, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Hardoi and Mathura, also registered notable growth, indicating that export expansion is becoming geographically diversified across the state.
The FIEO report also highlights that Uttar Pradesh’s export basket remains highly diversified. Electronics continued to dominate exports with goods worth Rs 46,960 crore, followed by meat and meat products at Rs 25,756 crore. “The meat sector emerged as one of the biggest growth drivers, recording an impressive 30 percent increase over the previous year,” the report said.
Industrial machinery exports also rose sharply by 26 percent, logging Rs 10,439 crore.
Textiles and leather based industries also showed rise. Exports of woven garments and apparel rose to Rs 16,657 crore, while footwear exports reached Rs 7,731 crore. Leather products registered 16 percent growth, touching Rs 4,634 crore and benefiting districts such as Kanpur, Unnao and Agra. Automotive components, iron and steel products and furniture exports also maintained positive growth trajectories.
Among emerging sectors, silk products recorded the highest growth rate at 156 percent, with exports jumping from Rs 589 crore to Rs 1,507 crore. The surge reflects growing international demand for premium silk products from Varanasi and surrounding weaving centres.
Other fast growing categories included animal and vegetable fats and oils, base metals and chemical products, signalling increasing diversification in the state’s export profile.
The report credits the success of the government’s One District One Product (ODOP) programme for bringing smaller districts into the export ecosystem. Districts such as Amroha, Bahraich, Hardoi, Maharajganj, Shahjahanpur and Ayodhya have begun contributing more significantly to exports.
This, according to the industry body, suggests that export benefits reach beyond major industrial centres and create employment opportunities in smaller towns and rural areas.
The findings suggest that the investments in logistics parks, inland container depots, multimodal transport networks and trade facilitation measures are strengthening the state’s export ecosystem.
Uttar Pradesh, the above-mentioned CMO official asserted, has substantial room for further growth.
Investments in logistics parks, multimodal transport networks, inland container depots and industrial corridors are expected to reduce transportation costs and improve access to international markets, the official said.
“The operationalisation of the Dedicated Freight Corridor and the expansion of expressway-linked industrial zones are expected to enhance export competitiveness in the coming years. Despite being a landlocked state, Uttar Pradesh has outperformed several traditional export regions including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Delhi,” the official added.
The growth, according to A.P.Tiwari, former head of economics department, SM University, shows the focus of the government on MSMEs and electronics manufacturing.
With Uttar Pradesh achieving a symbolic and economic milestone, he said, the challenge ahead will be sustaining double digit growth, increasing value addition in manufacturing, and moving up the global value chain.
“If current trends continue, the state could further strengthen its position among India’s top exporting regions and play an increasingly important role in the country’s ambition of becoming a major global manufacturing and export hub,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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