Hyderabad, Sep 2 (IANS): Exporters from Telangana on Thursday sought a dedicated international courier cargo clearance facility at the Hyderabad International Airport.

The exporters also demanded notifiying a town for export excellence, setting up of another Inland Container Depot, and a mega industrial park of world class standards to boost exports from the state.

They made the demands during a round table discussion on understanding the challenges of exporters and the way forward.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar asked the exporters to come out with suggestions to boost exports in the state. He stated that the government would take up all the issues raised by the exporters with the officials concerned and try to resolve them.

He said that the state, under the leadership of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, has achieved rapid progress in the last seven years since its formation.

The government had proactively taken series of measures to increase consumption in the state which has resulted in the state achieving impressive growth on par with the pre-lockdown levels, he added.

Terming exporters "partners of development", he assured them that the state government would do everything possible to solve their problems as this would bring buoyancy to the economy and expedite recovery in the post-Covid era.

The government has set up an ambitious target to bring 20 lakh acres under palm oil cultivation in the state. Special focus is also being laid on increasing agricultural exports from the state, he added.

Representatives of various export units thanked the government for allowing production even during the lockdown period which benefitted exporters.

Exporters, however, expressed concern about container shortage which is effecting outbound shipments, and as a result, hampering large-scale exports. They also raised the issue of GST refund in respect of capital goods and asked the government to take up with the Centre.