Kannauj district, a part of Kanpur division is a district of Uttar Pradesh with its administrative headquarters located at Kannauj city. Kannauj district is named after its city Kannauj. The city got its name from the term ‘Kanyakubj’ meaning the city of the hunchbacked maidens. Kannauj is place of historical importance. At the very initial period, Kannauj was a part of Gupta Empire. But when the Gupta Empire started to decline in the 6th century, the Maukhari Dynasty of Kannauj who had served as vessal rulers under the Guptas and established their control over the large areas of northern India. At different periods of time the place was ruled by different dynasties but among them the three most powerful dynasties ruled over the place include the Gurjara Pratiharas of Malwa, the Palas of Bengal and Rashtrakutas of the Deccanbetween 8th and 10th centuries..

The conflict between these three dynasties is called tripartite struggle by many historians.On the other hand, natives of the district believe that the Kannauj city is the origin of the Kanyakubja Brahmins. Kannauj is famous for the unique perfumes popularly known as Attar throughout the country.The perfume industry of Kannauj district is very famous across the globe. Now-a days the essence flavor, fragrance and incense of the Kannauj district are become internationally well-known products. Moreover, it is a huge market centre for tobacco, rose water and incense. Some people believe that the district derived its name from its distinct dialect of the Hindi language called Kannauji. Kannauj as separate district came into existence on 18th September 1997.

Kannauj is located at 27.07°N 79.92°E. It has an average elevation of 139 metres (456 feet). The district is bounded by the districts of Farrukhabad tothenorth, Hardoi to the northeast, Kanpur Nagar to the east, Kanpur Dehat to the southeast, Auraiya to the south, Etawah to the southwest, and Mainpuri to the west. The district is divided into three tehsils and eight development blocks. The district was split from Farrukhabad on 18 September 1997 and is part of Kanpur Division. Total geographical area of the district is 3129.20 Sqkm.

The Ganges is the main river of the district at the North East border of the district. Kali river is at the northern border of the district while the Ishan river flows through the District.The climate of the district is characterized by a hot dry summer and a pleasant cold season. The average rainfall of the District is approximately 80 cm.The economy of Kannauj district to some extent is based on agriculture. Some of its chief agricultural crops are rice, maize, jowar, pulses soyabean, etc. it is one of the largest procedures of potato in the state. The adoption of the new agricultural techniques amongst the farmers of the district helps to increase the production of various agricultural items.

Essential Oils (Ruh), Attars Hina, Shamama of Kannauj district are world famous since Mughal empire. Kannauj Manufacturers/ exporters having been successful in selling their products in national & international market. Some of the Important products of Kannauj are being exported to Arabian region, European, Australia and neighbouring countries. Bidi a type smoking product are being used by the lower class of the society and Kannauj is the largest Bidi supplier in Uttar Pradesh.

Agro based sector of MSME with 814 units in the district is the most prominent and economy contributing sector of the district. It is followed by sectors such as “Attar Industries”, “Repair & services”, and Readymade garment & Embroidery and hosiery sector etc. Out of total population of 1,656,616 (2011 census), 5,24,676 are working population. Out of total working population, 19.9% are working in other industries, 70.3% are cultivators and agricultural labourers and only 9.8% are household industry workers. This indicates that agriculture is the main source of income in the district.

The following tabledepicts the value of export of major products from Kannauj:

Kanauj famously known as the perfume capital of India has been a pioneer in perfumery since ages. Attar derived from Persian word ‘itir’, (also called ‘ittar’ in Hindi) is a natural perfume oil made from natural ingredients like rose or even agarwood (gold attar). In ancient India, the process of extracting perfume is mentioned in the scriptures of Ayurveda. Kannauj is the only place where the largest amount of attar is manufactured naturally in the entire world.

Attar derived from Persian word ‘itir’, (also called ‘ittar’ in Hindi) is a natural perfume oil made from natural ingredients like rose or even agarwood (gold attar). In ancient India, the process of extracting perfume is mentioned in the scriptures of Ayurveda. Kannauj is the only place where the largest amount of attar is manufactured naturally in the entire world. In Kannauj, the attar is made from Hydro distillation (Degs and Bhapka) method which has not changed for more than 400 years. Six types of perfumes are made in Kannauj comprising of Rose, Henna, Shamama Henna, jasmine, Bela and Mud (Mitti) perfumes. Mud perfumes are made only in Kannauj, widely used in cosmetics and medicines as they are natural and safe.
Attar manufacturing cluster comprises of about 250 micro, small and medium enterprises. During interactions, it has been observed that all units are using traditional methods and have limited focus on sophisticated production systems. In most of the units, biofuel is used for heating purpose which can be substituted by a more environmentally efficient gas-based system. The production output/batch size depends on the size of the order which is produced in batches of 5 to 10 kg. Attar industry is highly dependent on the usage in pan masala and tobacco-based products which contributes to more than 90% of total revenue of Attar Manufacturing units. Attar manufacturing units mostly procure raw materials locally. Attar oils are extracted natural oils through pure steam distillation process to derive a characteristic of odour of the plant. Attar oils have been around us from thousands of years and they can be used for a wide range of spiritual, health, cosmetic, religious and also for other applications. They can be used as a single Attar oil or a blend of Attar oils depending upon a user experience and desired benefit. Each of these oils are so unique and pleasant in their own way that they trigger an emotion and make you feel so fulfilling. Attars are very different than perfumes. They are concentrated liquids made from only natural sources, whereas perfumes are made from synthetic chemicals mixed with alcohol. Since these artificial perfumes are comparatively very cheap and they are marketed heavily with big budgets, they are dominating the current market. Essential Oil Manufacturing Cluster: In Kannauj, there are about 125 essential oil manufacturing units that are involved in manufacturing through natural and synthetic based raw materials. Essential Oil manufacturers also manufacture edible oil of cloves, cardamom, saffron, etc. 50% of the units procure raw material locally and remaining procure it from other states. Most of the manufacturers use primitive technologies to produce essential oils. The waste remains after extraction of oil are used in making agarbatti, hawan samgri and dhoop batti. Usage of waste material requires proper waste management system to reuse this material economically and generating additional revenue. Essential Oils include a large class of volatile odoriferous oils of vegetable origin that give plants their characteristic odour and often other properties. These are obtained from various parts of the plants (as flowers, leaves, bark, seeds, fruits etc.) by steam distillation, expression, or extraction and are usually mixtures of compounds (as aldehydes, esters, Alcohols, ketones etc.), and are used often in fragrances, flavors, and pharmaceutical preparations. Essential oils often vary in specifications of their content and odour profile as they are influenced by geo-climatic conditions and variety of planting materials. In FY 2014-15, the turnover of MSME units in Attar cluster was INR 650 Crore. As per stakeholders It has increased to around INR 790 Crore in FY 2017-18. The district’s tradition still thrives today and is fondly preserved by artisans/craftsmen and small producers .

The cluster comprises of support institutions that can be broadly classified into three categories – trade and industry association, educational and training institutions, and other institutions. The trade and industry associations assist industries in the cluster in getting clearances and approvals, solving issues regarding industrial infrastructure, providing information on latest government schemes etc. Educational and training institute provide training to labours and assist in addressing availability of skilled labour. Other institutions comprise banks and logistics service providers.;
Following are main Industry Associations that are working for the development of Perfume (Attar) Sector:
► Attar and Perfumes Association, Kannauj (APA)
► Fragrance and Flavours Association of India, Mumbai (FFAI)
► Essential Oil Association of India, Noida (EOAI)
► Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO)
► Industrial Area Manufacturers’ Association (AIMA)
► The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
► Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
► Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)

Ittar, also known as attar, is an essential oil derived from botanical or other natural sources. Most commonly these oils are extracted via hydro or steam distillation. The Persian physician Ibn Sina was first to derive the attar of flowers from distillation. Attar can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as attars are distilled with water. The oils are generally distilled into a wood base such as sandalwood and then aged. The aging period can last from one to ten years depending on the botanicals used and the results desired. Technically attars are distillates of flowers, herbs, spices and other natural materials such as baked soil over sandalwood oil/liquid paraffins using hydro distillation technique involving a still (deg) and receiving vessel (bhapka). These techniques are still in use today at Kannauj.
Attars are classified on the basis of flowers or other raw material use- gulab, moulshri, kewra, motia, gulhina, chameli, kadam, khus, henna or mitti(mud). Except for Hina and Shamama rest of the attars are made from a single floral or plant material or from baked earth referred to as ‘mitti ka attar’. Hina attar is a compound of several floral and herbal materials such as oakmoss, sugandhi mantra, laurel berry, cypriol, Indian Valerian, jattamansi, hydichium spicatum, and attars of gulab, kewra, motia, gulhina and chameli. A superior quality of Hina may also contain saffron, ambergris, musk and agarwood oil and is known as Shamama. Indeed, single odour attars are produced but a wide spectrum of attar fragrances can be produced with additional blending of several other flowers, herbs and spices. Also obtained in this process are rose water which is the most popular and other water extracts which are being used in the making of cosmetics and other personal products. Sweetened rose petals called ‘Gulukund’ has been a popular food item made and marketed by Kannauj as the rose from the region has curative properties and is an excellent mouth freshener. Agarbatti, Dhoops, additive food flavours and food extracts have also found a market.

The following table lists the HS codes under which the products are exported from the district:

The following table lists the HS codes under which the products are exported from the district: Export Potential
► Attar is exported to over 71 countries from India.
► In the year 2020-21 (Apr-Nov), India has exported Attar worth of 2.61 USD million .
► The total export value of the top 5 countries is 1.87 USD million which is the 71.65% of the total export value of Attar. These countries are UAE, Nigeria, Nepal Somalia and USA.
► The global perfume market size was valued at USD 31.4 billion in 2018 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.9% from 2019 to 2025.
► Approximately 75% of millennial women prefer buying natural products, wherein more than 45% of them favour natural-based healthy perfumes.
► Year wise export of Perfume (attar) from India is as follows: ;
Current Scenario The chapter focusses on the export scenario of Indiaand Uttar Pradesh and then deep dives into the export statistics of 2 products codes 330300 and 330290 stating the target countries for market expansion for both the products. These HS codes are utilised forPerfumes and toilet waters (excluding aftershave lotions, personal deodorants and hair lotions) and Mixtures of odoriferous substances and mixtures, incl. alcoholic solutions, based on one or more of these substances, of a kind used as raw materials in industry (excluding food or drink industries respectively. Product 1 (330300) - Perfumes and toilet waters (excluding aftershave lotions, personal deodorants and hair lotions) India's exports in 2019 for the product with HS code 330300, represent 0.8% of world total exports. Its’ ranking in world exports is 16 behind France, Spain, Germany, USA, UAE, Italy, Singapore, UK, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium and Hong Kong – China for the selected product. India’s exports have increased during 2015-2017 and dropped in 2018. Between 2018-19, the exports have risen again for the selected product. India exported this product to Singapore, Saudi Arabia, USA, UAE, Nigeria, Switzerland, UK, Brazil, Sudan, Srilanka, Kuwait, Nepal, Bangladesh, Qatar, Yemen etc. Below figure shows the top importers for this product are : Product 2 (330290) Mixtures of odoriferous substances and mixtures, incl. alcoholic solutions, based on one or more of these substances, of a kind used as raw materials in industry (excluding food or drink industries India's exports in 2019: India's exports for the product with HS code 330290 represent 3.2% of world exports, its ranking in world exports is 10 behind for the selected product. As shown in the diagram, India’s exports increased in 2015-16 and after a sudden drop in 2017, it increased again between 2018-2019. India exported this product to UAE, South Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Srilanka, Nigeria, Jordan, USA, Iran, Kenya, Nepal, Singapore etc. Below figure shows the top importers for this