Shortage of shipping containers and rising freight rates are delaying Indian exports. South India Tea Exporters Association President Dipak Shah says, in spite of cargo being ready to be exported, containers for stuffing are available only after 10 days, thereby delaying movement of goods to the market. Further, earlier exporters used to have long-term contracts with shipping lines on agreed freight rates, but rates have almost doubled and time to market has increased due to congestion at transhipment hubs.
K.M. Subramanian, President of Tiruppur Exporters Association said, in the month of May, the cost of shipping a 40-feet-high cube container from Thoothukudi to New York was around $4,260, but in July it has increased to $7,360. Due to congestion at major transhipment ports, some of the shipping lines are skipping calls. Earlier, at least one mother vessel used to connect from Colombo to the U.S ports on a weekly basis, now the service is once in two months. So, some buyers are asking for air-lifting goods and these costs have seen a 20-25% increase, he said.
