EOUs exports up 43% in FY06

Exports from 100 per cent export-oriented units (EOUs) in Andhra Pradesh increased by 43 per cent at Rs 3,000 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2006, as compared to Rs 2,100 crore in 2004-05. Of all the 180 EoUs, pharmaceuticals, textiles and readymade garments, granites and the agro sector were the main contributors.

While the existing units improved their numbers in 2005-06, several new units started exports this year, following which the EOUs could register 43 per cent growth, A S P Sharma, assistant development commissioner, Visakhapatnam special economic zone (VSEZ), said.

"Last fiscal, VSEZ officials issued about 63 letters of permission for starting 100 EOUs in the state and about 30 new units have already commenced production. This year, we expect about 30 more new units to commence exports and are, therefore, hopeful of crossing the Rs 3,500-crore mark," he said.

Exports from the Visakhapatnam special economic zone units too increased, though marginally, in 2005-06. During the financial year ended March 31, 2006, exports from all the 32 units (including seven software units), operating in the zone, touched Rs 612.50 crore (including Rs 8.48 crore software exports), as compared to Rs 584 crore in the previous year, registering a nominal growth of about 4 per cent.

Of the total exports of Rs 612.50 crore from the zone units, diamond exports alone accounted for 94 per cent. Worldwide Diamond and LID Jewellery jointly exported about Rs 575 crore worth of processed diamonds from the zone.