More small and medium scale traders from the city should explore avenues to export their products, said A.S. Meenalochani, Joint Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise.
She was speaking at an awareness programme on ‘Business opportunities for export of engineering goods’ organised by Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA), and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) here on Friday.
She said not many traders in the city were aware of export opportunities and government schemes formulated to promote export. Those who were already exporting their products should brief other traders on export procedures and strengthen the Madurai business community,” Ms. Meenalochani said.
MADITSSIA president V.S. Manimaran said India’s imports were more than the exports. “Around 50 per cent of the units at an industrial cluster in Dindigul, which were supplying minor components for BHEL, have downed shutters recently after BHEL started importing components from China,” he said.
Similarly, furniture manufacturers had been incurring huge losses because of imports.
“Chinese manufacturers are supported by their government in the form of good infrastructure, subsidies and funds. Our government should also provide us a secure business environment,” Mr. Manimaran said.
S.V. Arunachalam, Managing Director of Aruna Alloys Steels, and N. Seshadri, senior executive officer of ECGC, Madurai, were present.
