Bhubaneswar, Jan 22: Quality of products is an essential factor for boosting export. We must think of world-class standard while considering the quality aspect of a product or a service, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said inaugurating State Export Award Ceremony here on Friday.

Export plays a vital role in the economic growth of any State.  Odisha has a magnificent history of overseas trade and commerce. The legends of “Sadhab Pua” of Kalinga venturing into overseas markets to promote our merchandise continue to inspire us to regain our past glory.

“My Government is striving to create a conducive atmosphere to promote export through greater ease of doing business, implementation of 5T mechanism, infrastructure support and facilities for quality standardization. We are among the top five states in the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020 released by the Niti Aayog. Our efforts to promote exports are paying off in boosting our export turnover consistently,” he said.

I am glad that despite the adverse situation caused by COVID-19 pandemic, export from the State in the current financial year up to November has registered 55 percent increase over the export value corresponding to the same period in last financial year.  This is an outstanding achievement by the exporters of Odisha despite global recession and stiff international competition.  I congratulate the exporting community of the State for this remarkable feat and hope this upward trend will continue in the coming years, he added.

I am also happy to know that district level export promotion committee has been constituted in each district to facilitate export of local products. There are many local MSME products which have the potential to compete in the global market. Time is not far off when the Departmental stores in Europe and America will be studded with products made by our Women Self Help Groups from Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Malkangiri, Patnaik said.