Tuticorin is all set to bag the coveted title ‘Town of Export Excellence for Marine products’. The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry here has taken the initiative to earn the recognition soon. Seafood exporters were looking forward to the recognition award to boost exports. D.R. Kodeeswaran, secretary, ICCI, Tuticorin, said here on Sunday that production and export of frozen seafood from Tuticorin Port had crossed Rs.1,000 crore, to earn the status of ‘Town of Export Excellence’ in marine products.
“Select towns producing goods worth Rs. 1,000 crore or more are notified as ‘towns of exports excellence’ on the basis of their potential for growth in exports. However for the towns of export excellence in handloom, handicrafts, agriculture and fisheries sectors, the threshold limit is only Rs. 250 crore,” Mr. Kodeeswaran said.
Many towns had emerged as dynamic industrial clusters, contributing significantly to India’s exports. With the idea of encouraging exporters and to maximising their potential to expand in the value-chain and tap new markets, the Central government granted recognition to industrial clusters, he said.
At the Best Port Users’ Award programme for exporters here on Sunday, he sought the intervention of Minister of State for Commerce and Industry E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan to put Tuticorin prominently in the seafood export map.