Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district and Visakhapatnam have been recognised as ‘towns of export excellence’ under the seafood category.
“Visakhapatnam and Bhimavaram have been recognised as towns of export excellence under the seafood category and it is for the first time that the cities from Andhra Pradesh have entered the list,” TDP leader and Rajya Sabha member Seetha Rama Lakshmi told reporters.
At present, there are 33 towns in this category across the country but there was no representation from Andhra Pradesh.
“We had earlier, submitted a memorandum to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, citing statistics representation on shrimp exports from Bhimavaram in August last year and urged them to give its due recognition,” Ms Lakshmi added.
The TDP leader said Mr Naidu took a keen interest in the matter and was in touch with the government for recognising the two cities as towns of export excellence under seafood category.