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Policy & Economy News |
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India's services exports rise 6.6% to $17.94 bn in March Maharashtra to have new agri product export policy |
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Business News - The India Boom Factor |
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India expected to export 10-11 mt of iron ore pellets to China this year, say traders India's thermal coal purchases expected to rise to a record this year Sugar export surges to 21.29 lakh tonnes this year, says AISTA |
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Shipping News |
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Ministry of Shipping & SCI signs MoU for FY 2019-20 |
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Logistics News |
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GST & e-way bill helping trucks to cover 10-15 pc more distance in a day Foreign investors see growth opportunities in industrial warehousing hubs, says ICRA Concor plans Rs 4,500-cr (Rs.45 billion) investment to augment fleet of rakes in 4 years |
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Indian Port News |
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VCT's growth rate up 16 pc in 2018-19 Vallarpadam terminal aims to handle 6 lakh containers in 2019 Vizag Port all set to increase capacity |
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Policy & Economy News |
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India's services exports rise 6.6% to $17.94 bn in March Economic Times - May 15 Top |
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India's services exports rose by 6.6 per cent to USD 17.94 billion in March, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank Wednesday. Services imports in March too grew by 10.55 per cent to USD 11.37 billion. The trade balance in services for the month under review is estimated at USD 6.58 billion. The data comes with a lag of 45 days. It is also provisional and undergoes revision when the Balance of Payments (BoP) data is released on a quarterly basis. The services sector accounts for over 55 per cent in the country's GDP and the government is taking steps to promote the growth of exports. The government last year approved a Rs 5,000 crore (Rs.50 billion) package to promote 12 champion services sectors such as IT, tourism and hospitality. |
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Maharashtra to have new agri product export policy The Hindu Business Line - May 17 Top |
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The Maharashtra government has appointed a committee under the State Agriculture Commissioner to draft a new agriculture export policy. The State already leads in export of grapes, pomegranates and onions and the policy will focus on multiplying export of bananas, vegetables and rice. The State Cooperative and Marketing Department has issued a resolution announcing appointment of the Committee, which comprises nine government officials from various departments. The State government has already planned to develop six clusters to export oranges, pomegranates, grapes, onions, banana and mangoes. The new policy will be in consonance with the Centre's Agriculture Export Policy which aims at reinvigorating the entire value chain from export-oriented farm production and processing to transportation, infrastructure and market access. Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, in his recent address at the first State level awareness programme on agriculture export policy held in Pune, said that to achieve the purpose of the policy, clusters have been identified across the country for development of agriculture exports. He also stressed on attractive packaging to increase the demand for the identified products. The Indian Institute of Packaging has been roped in for working on packaging standards for international markets. |
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Business News - The India Boom Factor |
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India expected to export 10-11 mt of iron ore pellets to China this year, say traders
Exim News Service - New Delhi, May 12 Top |
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Given the good demand from Chinese mills, India is expected to export 10-11 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore pellets to China this year as against 9.5 mt last year, say traders as per reports. They point out that high-grade pellets are in good demand but mining issues and export restrictions have kept India's iron ore out of the high-demand Chinese market in recent years. In 2007, India was among China's largest iron ore suppliers with 100 million tonnes shipped. As of now, about 5 million tonnes of pellets are at Chinese ports awaiting deliveries to mills, reports said. |
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India's thermal coal purchases expected to rise to a record this year
Exim News Service: New Delhi, May 14 Top |
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India's thermal coal purchases are expected to surge to a record this year and remain robust through the next decade as domestic supply lags demand. Overseas shipments will climb almost 11 per cent to 184 million tonnes during the financial year started April 1 and rise further to average about 200 million tonnes annually through the following decade, reports said. |
Sugar export surges to 21.29 lakh tonnes this year, says AISTA
Exim News Service: New Delhi, May 14 Top |
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In a positive development for the economy, sugar export has surged to 21.29 lakh tonnes so far in the current marketing year ending September, as against about five lakh tonnes shipped in the entire 2017-18, said the All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) in a statement. Moreover, of the 21.29 lakh tonnes exported between October 1 and April 6, raw sugar accounted for 9.76 lakh tonnes. Another 7.24 lakh tonnes is in the export pipeline, added the statement. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iran are the major export destinations, said a report. It may be recalled that the Centre has asked mills to export 50 lakh tonnes of sugar in the 2018-19 marketing year (October-September), to liquidate the surplus stock. The government is providing various incentives to boost sugar exports. India's production of the sweetener is estimated to rise to a record 330 lakh tonnes in the 2018-19 marketing year from 325 lakh tonnes in the previous year, the report added. |
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Shipping News |
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Ministry of Shipping & SCI signs MoU for FY 2019-20
Daily Shipping Times - New Delhi, May 17 Top |
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The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the year 2019-2020 was signed between Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) on 10th May 2019 at New Delhi. Shri Gopal Krishna, IAS, Secretary (Shipping) and Capt. Anoop Kumar Sharma, CMD, SCI, signed the MoU in the presence of senior officials of Ministry of Shipping. Starting out as a marginal Liner shipping Company with just 19 vessels, the SCI has today evolved into the largest Indian shipping Company. The SCI also has substantial interests in various segments of the shipping trade. SCI's owned fleet includes Bulk carriers, Crude oil tankers, Product tankers, Container vessels, Passenger-cum-Cargo vessels, Phosphoric Acid / Chemical carriers, LPG / Ammonia carriers and Offshore Supply Vessels. Sailing through for nearly five decades, the SCI today has a significant presence on the global maritime map. As the Country's premier shipping line, the SCI owns and operates around one-third of the Indian tonnage, and has operating interests in practically all areas of the shipping business; servicing both National and International trades. |
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Logistics News |
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GST & e-way bill helping trucks to cover 10-15 pc more distance in a day
Exim News Service: Mumbai, May 14 Top |
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In a positive development for the logistics sector in the country after the implementation of GST and e-way bill, trucks are now able to cover 10-15 per cent more distance in a day than what they used to do in the pre-GST era, helping in reducing the cost of logistics, said a report. Trucks that were moving 300-350 km a day pre-GST are now covering a distance of 400-410 km, facilitating a drop in logistics costs, the report pointed out. |
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Foreign investors see growth opportunities in industrial warehousing hubs, says ICRA
Exim News Service - Mumbai, May 16 Top |
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The industrial warehousing segment in India has witnessed rapid growth in recent years due to healthy demand from occupants in sectors such as automotive manufacturing, third party logistics services and e-commerce. In addition, regulatory interventions such as implementation of the GST and infrastructure status accorded to the sector are also driving demand for large integrated warehousing parks. As per an ICRA note, this has attracted foreign investors who are entering the sector through investment platforms with the mandate of investing in industrial warehousing parks across the major cities of the country. Often this is done by partnering with a local developer or in some cases a global warehousing operator.The total amount of equity commitments to such platforms is at least $ 2.5 billion over the last two years. Such investment commitments can support assets under management of more than 130 million square feet as per ICRA estimates. This is almost double the size of the current estimated stock of Grade A industrial warehousing in the country and around 10 times the operational portfolio of such platforms as on date. Commenting on the development, Mr Shubham Jain, Vice-President and Group Head - Corporate Ratings, ICRA says: "There is increasing demand for Grade A warehousing space because of the operational conveniences and cost benefits. The demand is concentrated on the metro cities, supported by the presence of manufacturing hubs in the vicinity, access to transport networks and ex-im facilities, as well as the rising urban population in the metropolitan areas for consumption-driven demand for warehousing. The current incremental capacity addition is mainly through larger-sized warehousing parks, backed by capital from foreign institutional investors and collaboration on best practices with global warehousing operators." ICRA notes that foreign investment is largely flowing in by partnering with a local developer or in some cases a global warehousing operator. Some of the major investors in this space till date include the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (in Indospace Core), GLP (in Indospace Core), Allianz (in ESR India), Warburg Pincus (in Embassy Industrial Parks), Ascendas-Singbridge (in partnership with Firstspace Realty) and Ivanhoe Cambridge and Quadreal Property (in LOGOS India). The existing and potential assets are primarily located in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Such investment platforms which have good financial backing have shown their intention of growing through a mix of in-house development as well as acquisition of completed/under-construction properties. Owners of completed projects will be able to monetise their assets at good yields, whereas the investment funds may see potential for further improvement in valuations through their operational strengths and asset improvements. From a credit perspective, industrial warehousing operations benefit from a stable revenue profile arising from long-term lease agreements, longer maturity loans available during construction as well as operational phase and relatively low vacancy levels currently seen in key warehousing clusters and hubs. Moreover, the moderate leveraging policy adopted by many of the investment platforms is a credit positive, said a release. "However, some of the key aspects on which the credit assessment varies from the office leasing segment is the relatively limited track record of operations and occupancy for many of the assets, vulnerability of vacancy and rent rates to rapid expansion in supply in relation to existing stock, and relatively higher counterparty credit risk with manufacturing companies dominating the tenant list for many warehousing parks," adds Mr Jain. |
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Concor plans Rs 4,500-cr (Rs.45 billion) investment to augment fleet of rakes in 4 years
Daily Shipping Times - New Delhi, May 16 Top |
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Container Corporation of India (Concor) plans to invest Rs 4,500 crore (Rs.45 billion) in the next four years to add 270 rakes to its existing fleet of 343 rakes. The State-owned company intends to serve the increasing domestic demand for cargo movement by containers using rail and coastal routes. "This year, Concor plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore (Rs.10 billion) on infrastructure, dry ports and IT systems," said V Kalyana Rama, Chairman and Managing Director, Concor. The State-owned organisation is exploring the use of containers to transport break-bulk cargoes like cement and foodgrains. "The use of containers for cargo movement within the domestic market is still minuscule," he told media. Concor plans to add 4,000 containers to its existing strength of 24,000. They will be used only in the domestic market. Last year, the company phased out 2,000 old containers and added 8,000. There is a plan to add 10,000 containers with an investment of around Rs 300 crore (Rs.3 billion), and a global tender will be floated shortly. "Containers are imported mainly from China," he said. Coastal Shipping: Rama said after testing Coastal Shipping from Kandla to Thoothukudi via New Mangalore and Kochi, Concor wants to extend this up to Bangladesh Port, which can be also be serviced under Coastal Shipping. There is a huge demand in Bangladesh with India supplying materials like clinker and cement. "You will shortly hear about the Bangladesh service," he said. He added that "Coastal Shipping from Kandla to Bangladesh could happen only by going round Sri Lanka. This can be done in cost-effective mode." 'No conditions': In a bid to retain customers, Concor has introduced the 'one year-one tariff' scheme under which customers are offered a single tariff for the whole year, irrespective of any cost escalation. This will ensure price stability throughout the year. "There are no conditions are attached to the scheme," he said. For the year ended March 31, 2019, Concor reported net profit of Rs 1,200 crore (RS.12 billion) on revenue of Rs 7,200 crore (Rs.72 billion). It handled 3.83 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year across its 83 terminals. "We hope to have 10-12 per cent growth in both volume and top line this year," he said. |
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Indian Port News |
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VCT's growth rate up 16 pc in 2018-19 Exim News Service - Visakhapatnam, May 13 Top |
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Visakha Container Terminal (VCT) recorded a growth rate of 16 per cent with a throughput over 0.45 million TEUs in 2018-19.The growth drivers were local laden volumes at 18 per cent, complemented by rail-bound (10 per cent growth) and transhipment (148 per cent growth). Both imports and exports grew, at 23 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, with Nepal volumes being the prime contributor in import growth. Local import volumes too equally contributed towards incremental volumes, said a release. Visakhapatnam is the hub of ferro alloys, reefer and pharma. Finished products get exported through VCT, where the import of raw material plays a pivotal role too. The growth in the ferro alloys industry has been quite impressive in this region, taking a decent leap from an average of 3,800 TEUs to 4,500 TEUs a month with major ferro industry players increasing the production of cargo. To meet the requirements of the ferro alloys industry, import of manganese ore, the raw material for ferro alloys production, increased by 76 per cent in FY 19 over FY 18. Both existing and new companies were the prime contributors in the growth of manganese ore imports. Import of chemicals for the pharma industry increased by 15 per cent, resulting in the growth of chemical/pharma exports by 52 per cent and 50 per cent. Commodities like scrap and quick lime have increased impressively, displaying a growth rate of 19 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively. Other commodities like machinery and spares, paper, cashew, etc. have shown impressive positive trend that is likely to continue. New players who entered the market have contributed to the increase in machinery and spares imports, the release said. Growth in agri products has been consistent and showed a rate of increase of 88 per cent, with the opening of the South-East Asia market, primarily to Indonesia and Vietnam, contributing quite well towards the commodity's growth. Not to forget, finished product exports of granite and stones too is on the rise and continuing to grow at a rate of 17 per cent. Reefer traffic too continues to grow; the YoY growth of reefer containers at VCT is about 25 per cent. However, the growth rate registered this year has been 10 per cent due to special tariffs imposed by the US government on frozen seafood. With the opening of the South-East Asia and China markets, the drop in US volumes got compensated and the growth rate will continue. While the marine products' contribution in reefer is 90 per cent, the remaining are from frozen food exports, chocolate imports, chemicals imports, live plants, etc. which are also increasing consistently, the release added. |
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Vallarpadam terminal aims to handle 6 lakh containers in 2019 India Seatrade News - May 18 Top |
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Buoyed by the 14 per cent growth rate achieved within the first three months of the calender year, Dubai Port World (DP World), which operates the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, aims to cross the six lakh mark in container handling this year. "We have maintained a compounded annual growth rate of 13 per cent in past three years. This year, we achieved 14 per cent growth each month from January to March. With 14 percent market share, Kochi is second among 12 ports in south India and our competitor has 18 per cent market share. We are confident of growing to the first position within a short period," DP World chief executive officer Praveen Thomas Joseph told Express here on Friday. According to Praveen, world class infrastructure and international quality service have helped ICTT achieve the feat. With automated system, the turn around time of trucks has been reduced to 24 minutes. By adopting of modern technology, installing latest equipment and an automated vessel operations system, the port aims at a healthy growth rate in the future, he said. The port has been striving to attract more mother vessels while there is a 50 percent growth in transshipment sector in the past one year. Two mother vessels from Far East, three from Middle East, one each from Mediterranean, Europe, Australia and New Zealand docks at the port every week. Three services are operated to Colombo per week. Wan Hai Shipping Line of China launched a weekly mainline service, the China-India Express service, last month. DP World is trying to woo cargo services from the US to start direct services, said Praveen. "Though we have been able to attract more mother vessels, a major chunk of the cargo from India still goes to other transshipment ports like Singapore, Dubai and Colombo. To receive more mainline services, we have to expand the terminal," he said. Praveen said though Kochi Port has a history of work stoppages in the past, not many vessel activities were affected in the past five years. "Kochi is an all-weather port with world class productivity. We have an extremely harmonious work culture. When there is a hartal, the port experiences a slow down, but never affects the movement of vessels. While 30 per cent of cargo from Kochi was transported by mainline vessels in 2014, the figure has grown to 55% in 2018," he said. |
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Vizag Port all set to increase capacity Exim News Service - VISAKHAPATNAM, May 12 Top |
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Mr M. T. Krishnababu, IAS, outgoing Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust, has said that the port is all set to increase its capacity to 145 MMTPA, from the current 127 MMTPA, in the next two years after the completion of ongoing projects. He was speaking at a media conference here where he reviewed the progress of the port during the past five years from 2014 to 2019 during his tenure. He pointed out that the port handled 65.30 million tonnes of cargo in 2018-19 as against 63.54 million tonnes during 2017-18. "For the past three years, the port's cargo has been growing by 5 per cent in spite of competition from neighbouring private ports," he said. He said deepening of the inner harbour draught from 11 m to 14.5 m was one of the important projects taken up during his tenure, which enabled the port to handle much larger vessels. The berths were also strengthened to handle bigger vessels. "The port spent Rs 1,200 crore (Rs.12 billion) of its own funds on modernisation works and private operators spent Rs 2,500 crore (Rs.25 billion). We have created, along with private operators, end-to-end mechanised handling facilities. It has reduced pollution in the port along with other measures," he added, as per reports. |
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106/107, Technopolis Knowledge Park, Mahakali Caves Road, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai - 400 093, India Tel:+91 22 66775000 Fax:+91 22 66775050 Email:corporate@samsaragroup.com |
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Disclaimer:
Above information is only indicative and given in good faith. We have collected the above information from various secondary sources. We have tried our best to be as correct as possible. However, we cannot guarantee 100 % accuracy in the above data. Our company / group will not be responsible for any mistakes / inaccuracies which might have crept in inadvertently. |