SEZs to miss export target by Rs 20k cr

AHMEDABAD: The special economic zones (SEZs) are expected to miss the export target by Rs 20,000 crore for this fiscal in the wake of slowing demand from key overseas markets such as the US and Europe, a senior commerce ministry official said here on Sunday.

���This year, 30% of the total exports will happen from SEZs. However, due to the slowdown, exports this year are expected to be about Rs 1,00,000 crore, a significant shortfall considering the earlier industry projections of about Rs 1,20,000 crore,��� additional secretary R Gopalan said on the sidelines of an Assocham conclave. He said SEZs should shift their focus from the US and European markets to other lesser-affected markets to sell their produce.

He said 30% of the total exports from SEZs would be from Gujarat. The state has eight operational SEZs and 49 have received formal approval. While 26 of these have been notified, 11 other zones have received in-principle approval, he said.

Mr Gopalan also said a Parliamentary Standing Committee has given recommendations on the new land acquisition and rehabilitation policy for SEZs. The policy is slated to be sent to the Cabinet for approval, he said, adding guidelines for power and port-based SEZs are also in advanced stages of finalisation, he added.

The official dismissed the notion that SEZs were ���land guzzlers���. ���Of the 300-odd SEZs set up on about 120,000 hectares, 78% are on barren land, 19% are on land yielding single-crop, while the remaining 3% are on double-crop land,��� he said.
Speaking on the occasion, L B Singhal, director general of Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs, said SEZs have brought in Rs 90,000 crore of investments and created over two lakh jobs in the last two-and-a-half years.

���SEZs are not immune to the global economic scenario, but they have to be seen with a long-term perspective because they have a long gestation periods. SEZs are here to stay,��� Mr Singhal said, adding ���when the economy bounces back, the SEZs will be the first to benefit.��� He also felt the ambiguity surrounding SEZs being an infrastructure or a real-estate project should be cleared in the SEZ Act.