“Direct subsidy and support via VGF are being examined,” a government official said, adding that inter-ministerial consultations were on. A container manufacturing mission is being considered to hasten local manufacturing. The idea is to shield exporters and importers from the vagaries of sudden shortage of containers and spikes in premia. Shortage of containers has been noticed as a key trade barrier especially during the post-Covid period when China was seen importing empty containers by offering a premium. “Chinese businesses, especially container owners tend to stock containers during global trade issues. This leads to shortages and India wants to break free from the situation. It is estimated that Container Corporation of India (Concor) alone has near term demand for buying approximately 50,000 containers.
