Measures announced to solve shipping related problems of traders

20-Sep-2024 08:54 PM

New Delhi . The Central Government has announced some measures to address the shipping related problems of exporters and importers, which includes reduction in certain fees/charges at ports and purchase of five additional second hand container vessels by SCI.

These measures were announced after a meeting with all the concerned parties of the international trade cadre. Senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Shipping, Department of Ports, Ministry of Finance,

Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Railways, along with representatives of the exporters' organization - Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIO), customs officials, Freight for Borders, transport operators and shipping companies were also present in this meeting.

Issues related to the shipping sector were raised in this meeting, which is affecting the export performance of the country.

It is worth mentioning that in August, the total exports from the country registered a decline of 9.3 percent.

The key issues that were raised were the price hike in containers, increase in sea freight rates, rise in shipping costs, delays in movement of ships at Indian ports and inconvenience caused due to longer turnaround time at ports, etc.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister said that various issues were discussed in detail and several steps were announced by the government to address the challenges and constraints faced by exporters and importers in the shipping sector.