Export Inspection Council of India branch to serve exporters

Nellore: Export Inspection Council of India (EIC), a regulatory authority for quality control and pre-shipment inspection of notified export commodities to European Countries, opened its branch in Nellore.

The new branch is a boon to 13 shrimp, fish and fishery product establishments and two milk establishments in Nellore. Hitherto these companies used to go all the way to Chennai for certification for export and the new branch has put an end to their ordeals.

This is the third branch for EIC, which got bran-ches in Bhimavaram and Visakhapatnam in AP.

According to the Director of EIC, Dr S.K. Saxena, EIC is nodal certification body for certificate of origin under various preferential tariff schemes, designates and approve private inspection agencies and laboratories to supplement its own activities through Export Inspection Agencies.

It is also an advisory board to Government of India on measures to be taken for enforcement of quality control and inspection of commodities intended for export and to draw up programme for quality control and inspection of commodities.

He said that the new office in Nellore is the seventh sub-office under Export Inspection Agen-cy, Chennai and 27th sub-office under Export Insp-ection Council of India.

The inception of the Nellore sub-office is to cater the need of fish and fishery products and food establishments at Nellore and surrounding areas also covering the primary production level.

“As a major port in Asia, the export and import activities have been increased by manifolds in Krishnapatnam port. Certification activities of EIA, Chennai, in the issuance of certificate of origin are also expected to be more in the coming years. To ease the trade community for approaching EIA, Chenn-ai regional office at Che-nnai for all the activities, the new sub-office at Ne-llore is established with modern laboratory facilities,” the Director said.

Nellore mayor and noted shrimp exporter Abdul Azeez said that the branch will save time to the exporters located in and around Nellore.