The State has a long way to go to leverage the advantage of having the second longest coastline in the country. Even after two years, facilities required by exporters have not been created and coupled with this, imposition of taxes on imports has become a major obstacle to the growth process.
Andhra Pradesh is a major importer of pulses and due to the five per cent VAT levied in the State has resulted in importers routing pulses from Myanmar through Chennai and selling it in the State. The ports in the State are standing to lose out traffic of at least 1,000 containers per month during peak season.
Memorandum
Chillies from Guntur are still routed through Chennai as the State does not have an office and laboratory of the Spices Board to test samples and certify the product as fit for human consumption, officials of the Visakhapatnam Port Trust submitted in a memorandum to Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu.
The issue was raised with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during the recently concluded Maritime India Summit in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu told the MP and urged him to follow it up with Centre for speedy resolution.
Statutory bodies
Further, the State needs statutory bodies like the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Port Health Officer in Visakhapatnam to certify that the imported fruits are in order without any chemicals that are harmful for human consumption.
There is no office of Assistant Drug Controller in the State because of which all the pharmaceutical imports are being routed through Chennai. The ADC certifies the specific drugs that are allowed to be imported or exported.
Post bifurcation, the State has tremendous opportunity for development utilising its resources to the maximum, the BJP State president said at the ceremony to flag off the container cargo ship SSL Visakhapatnam, after its maiden call at the Visakhapatnam Port on Thursday.
State needs statutory bodies like the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Port Health Officer in Visakhapatnam to certify that the imported fruits are in order without any chemicals that are harmful for human consumption
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