Exports from the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) registered a growth of 20 per cent in 2008-09 as compared with the previous financial year.
The units put together exported materials worth Rs 901 crore as against Rs 746.77 crore in 2007-08, said SEZ officials.
LID Jewelers, which exported about Rs 160 crore worth of processed diamonds in 2007-08 from the SEZ, had shut down operations due to internal problems and exports from this unit were totally stopped in 2008-09.
Major exporters from the SEZ include World Wide Diamonds Rs 300 crore, Opto Circuits Rs 193 crore, OWS Oils Rs 120 crore, and Show Tech Granites Rs 5.64 crore as against Rs 302 crore, Rs 67.10 crore, Rs 7.56 crore and Rs 2.11 crore respectively in the preceding year.
Hyderabad Batteries, which started production in 2008-09, exported Rs 68 crore worth of batteries in first year of operations. Though there are also about six software units, exports from these units are very negligible.
The zone currently has 72 units on about 360 acres. Letters of approval have been issued to another eighth units in the zone during the last fiscal. The units are likely to export from the next fiscal.