Seafood Industry Welcomes New SOPS
03 April 2008INDIA - Seafood exporters in Kerala are happy with the sops announced by the central government to bail them out. They are particularly pleased with an incentive for shrimp farmers. Shrimp farming has been included in the Vishesh Krishi And Gram Udyog Yojana (VKGUY), which gives the exporters extra duty benefits, says a report in Thaindian News.
Anwar Hashim, president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), has described the move as another boost for the industry.
“With shrimp now included under VKGUY, the exporters will get an additional 3.5 percent in the duty entitlement pass book (DEPB) scheme," said Hashim.
Currently seafood exporters get eight percent under this scheme. The biggest boon is that this 3.5 percent will be distributed among all the players in the seafood industry including the fishermen, the aquaculture farms, the processing industry and us exporters.
The objective of VKGUY is to promote export of fruits, vegetables, flowers, minor forest produce, dairy, poultry and now shrimp by providing incentives to exporters.
The SEAI, which had been requesting the central government for sops for long, had submitted a memorandum to United Progressive Alliance head Sonia Gandhi when she visited here last month.
Last month, SEAI officials were in New Delhi and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other union ministers requesting them to intervene to save the crisis-ridden industry. They are happy with the new incentives.
TheFishSite News Desk
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