Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam last week assured exporters that the Central government will find a solution to the ongoing shipping container crunch within a week and said the government is actively working to find out a short term solution.
Further, he said, that for a long term solution, the country will need to produce more containers, but that will take time.
Speaking to the media persons in the national capital, Subrahmanyam said: “Containers’ freight rate has jumped to 300% to 500% year-on-year basis. Cabinet Secretary took a meeting yesterday. A meeting was held at Shipping Ministry. Minister Piyush Goyal will take a meeting with concerned ministers tomorrow.”
“We are working on a short-term solution that might come in a week and the long-term solution will take time,” he said.
At present, the Indian exporters across verticals ranging from apparel to agricultural commodities to consumer electronics and furniture are under murky waters as Indian exports dip due to the global shortage of containers, and a resultant jump in freight rates, prompting many to seek government intervention.
The severe container shortage triggered, along with a huge demand for containers in the US and Europe has been pushing container rates, which shot up to record levels in the past 10-15 days.
As per the industry experts, the charges for carrying a container from or onwards to India are around USD 7,000-10,000, up from USD 3,000-4,000 six to eight months ago.
SOURCE: logisticsinsider.in
