Rajasthan Urged to Spread Exports Beyond Jaipur and Jodhpur to Make the Most of FTAs
06 July 2026: Rajasthan risks missing out on India’s growing set of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) unless export manufacturing spreads beyond a handful of districts, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has cautioned. According to FIEO, Jaipur and Jodhpur together make up nearly 48% of the state’s exports, and the top five districts account for around 60%. That leaves most districts with only a small role in global trade – and limits how far Rajasthan can use the tariff advantages that FTAs now offer.
Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO of FIEO, said sectors such as gems and jewellery, wooden handicrafts, engineering goods and pharmaceuticals stand to gain the most from better access to overseas markets under these agreements. But to spread the benefit, he said, Rajasthan needs to fix its regional imbalance – by building new industrial clusters, strengthening infrastructure, and improving market access for industries outside the established export centres.
Sahai pointed to the Centre’s Districts as Export Hubs initiative as a key tool. The scheme identifies products with export potential in each district, tackles supply-side problems, and helps local industries get ready for international buyers. He also argued that exporters should move up the value chain – shipping finished products rather than raw materials – to earn more per unit and build stronger global brands.
Textiles Committee pushes quality and innovation
The same message came through at a Textiles Committee workshop in Jaipur. Speaking at the event “Maximizing Exports Through FTAs and Government Schemes,” run by the committee’s Textile Export Facilitation Centre – Kartikay Dhanda, Secretary, Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, urged Rajasthan’s textile and apparel makers to use FTAs more actively, raise product quality, and adopt innovation to compete abroad. Dhanda urged exporters to think long term – built around quality, innovation, value addition and sustainability.
The timing matters. India’s trade deals are widening fast: the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which will give 99% of Indian exports duty-free access to the UK, is due to take effect, and an India-EU FTA is expected to be signed by the end of 2026, with implementation likely in early 2027.
Jaipur’s apparel base
Much of that opportunity sits with Jaipur. The workshop drew the city’s garment exporters, including members of the Association of Garment Exporters, Sitapura (AGES) – a leading alliance of readymade garment makers working to turn Jaipur into a global apparel hub by promoting members’ brands abroad and connecting them with overseas buyers.
Jaipur is shifting from a craft centre into a serious apparel hub. The city does roughly Rs.10,000 crore of business a year, built on its hand-block printing heritage and skilled workforce, supplying international brands, D2C labels and big domestic retailers. About Rs.3,000 crore of that is exports and Rs.6,000 crore domestic, with home textiles and fabrics making up the rest. Jaipur is home to more than 400 textile and apparel manufacturers, of which about 200 are export units.
With FTAs opening more markets, Rajasthan has a chance to widen its export basket and bring more districts into the global value chain – if it can take manufacturing beyond its two leading cities.
