Industry not too enthused with TEE status

Jayarama Emani | The Dollar Business The coastal towns of Visakhapatnam and Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh, being recognised as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) in the new Foreign Trade Policy, which was released on Wednesday, has got mixed response from the industry. Stakeholders feel while the announcement is encouraging, the government must expedite infrastructure development in both the towns if it is really interested in export promotion from the region. Speaking to The Dollar Business, Bhaskara Rao Potluri, Executive Director, Andhra Chambers of Commerce & Industry Federation, said, “With the Andhra Pradesh government setting a target of Rs.60,000 crore (cumulative) worth of marine exports by 2020, it is no surprise that the Centre is looking at Bhimavaram as a production base and Visakhapatnam as a base for marine exports, particularly that of shrimp.” With a marine park already under construction at Bhimavaram, the coastal town is getting all set for the future, but none of the expansion in these two towns should face the fate the state’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs), he cautioned. Elaborating his point further, Rao said that while initially, erstwhile Andhra Pradesh was the biggest beneficiary of the government’s SEZ scheme, there was no follow up. “Less than 20% of 80 odd SEZ parks allotted are operational,” he said. On the other hand, P. V. Appaji, Director General, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), welcomed the move without any scepticism. While reacting to the new FTP, he said, “The new FTP provides several incentives to the pharmaceutical sector and we are eagerly looking forward to taking full advantage of it”, commenting on the move to recognise Visakhapatnam and Bhimavaram as TEE, he said, “Pharmexcil is expanding its operations in Visakhapatnam, including building a ‘Pharma City’, along with a convention centre.” Similarly, Shiv Kumar Rungta, President, Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FTAPCCI), feels infrastructure development of Visakhapatnam Port is urgently needed to fully benefit from the decision. “The government has already identified Visakhapatnam as a ‘Smart City’. It now wants to develop this coastal town as an export hub as majority of the exporters in Andhra Pradesh use the Visakhapatnam Port. However, infrastructure development needs to take place at a brisk pace, if both the towns are to make a mark as towns of export excellence,” he added. It’s worth noting that TEE recognition ensures that trade associations of a town get financial assistance from the government under Market Access Initiative (MAI) on a priority basis, along with several other benefits.    

This article was published on April 02, 2015.