The Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday reported a rise of 10.7% in the receipts generated by export-oriented enterprises (EOE) in 2010. These Export Processing Zone (EPZ) companies exported products worth Rs39.8 billion last year, an increase of Rs3.84 billion over 2009.
EOE imports in 2010 amounted to Rs20.62 billion compared to Rs17.33 billion in 2009, an increase of 19% or Rs3.29 billion. EOE exports for the fourth quarter of 2010 were estimated at Rs10.62 billion, 15.1% higher than the corresponding period in 2009.
Imports by EOE during the fourth quarter of 2010 were estimated at Rs5.12 billion, up 8.4% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2009. Employment in the EOE sector decreased by 2,738 (- 4.7%) to 55,828 during the one-year period ending December 2010 from 58,566 at the end of 2009. The number of EPZ companies at the end of fourth quarter of 2010 was 372 compared to 413 at the end of fourth quarter of 2009.