COIMBATORE: The Port of Antwerp has invited exporters of this region to use its facilities for an entry into the Pan European market.

It is the second largest in Europe. Any entrepreneur who wants to export to Europe should use the port, said Raj Khalid, representative of the Port of Antwerp in India.

Chamber

He was addressing members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, here recently.

In his address, he said that the port handled about 160 million tonnes of cargo in 2005 and 40 per cent of it was in containers.

The products handled ranged from forest produce and fruits to steel.

The Trade Commissioner, Flanders Investment and Trade, Jayant Nadiger, said that raw diamonds was the major import by India from Belgium.

Growth

There was a growth in the non-diamond sector too.

The office of the Trade Commissioner organised meetings in various regions to promote exports from Flanders and to attract investments and business to the region from South India.

The focus was on the Port of Antwerp at the meetings held here and in Tirupur.

The special features of the port were explained to the industrialists to reduce the export costs.

"Flanders is the region of logistical hub," he told the gathering who attended the function.

Though data on usage of the port by exporters here was in bits and pieces, there were several companies from here that used the Port of Antwerp, he said.

Enterprises

Exports from Flanders were mostly from the small and medium-scale enterprises.

Exports accounted for 85 per cent of the Gross Regional Product.

And, most of its exports were to the neighbouring countries - Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Metallurgy, chemicals, textiles and car assembly were the major industries there.

The office of the trade commissioner, located in Bangalore, provided a platform for the exporters and importers to improve trade.

It acted as a facilitator in improving trade between India and the State of Flanders, he said.

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