Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Chairman Dr. M. Angamuthu and East Godavari Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy on Friday flagged off the first consignment of rice from the Kakinada deepwater port as the Kakinada anchorage port has already met its capacity to handle rice exports.
The State government has recently permitted APEDA to export rice from the deep sea port operated by the Kakinada Sea Ports Limited (KSPL).
The Rice Exporters Association (TREA-India) is exporting the rice that is beyond the handling capacity of the Kakinada Anchorage Port operated by the A.P. Maritime Board.
“On Friday, the first consignment of 32,250 metric tonnes of broken rice has started from Kakinada Deep Sea Port to Senegal in West Africa. The export of rice from the deep seaport is a dream that has been realised with the support of the Andhra Pradesh State government,” Dr. M. Angamuthu said.
Speaking to The Hindu, TREA president B.V. Krishna Rao said, “The maximum annual rice export from the Kakinada Anchorage Port is three million tonnes. In coming years, the total rice export from the two ports on the Kakinada coast is likely to be six million tonnes as two berths have been dedicated for the rice exports at the deep-sea port.”
“The APEDA and the State government’s initiation to facilitate the rice export from the deep sea port will be the game changer in the rice exports in India,” Mr. Krishna Rao added.
On the modernisation of the anchorage port, Dr. Angamuthu has assured to hold talks with the State and Central governments to speed up the proposed modernisation.
In an interaction with Dr. Angamuthu and Joint Collector G. Lakshmisha, KSPL Chief Operating Officer M. Muralidhar said that two additional berths will be developed at the deep sea port as part of the expansion plan.
