Category Archives: International

At FFFAI’s ninth Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi, several issues, including the recently-announced national cargo policy, draft logistics policy, recent changes in GST, and trade opportunities between India and Iran, were discussed. Asghar Omidi, Counsellor, Economic Section, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, emphasised on the strategic importance of Chabahar Port in Iran to script the success of the Indo-Iran trade relationship, which has already been enjoying a rich cultural as well as personal relationship of people of the two countries. He pointed out that presently, India is Iran’s sixth trade partner, with $13.10bn in trade, and with support from Indian logistics stakeholders, the bilateral trade can be increased manifold. “The India-Iran bilateral trade can easily reach $20bn in the near future,” he said. Omidi also invited Indian freight forwarders and logistics companies to visit Iran to witness infrastructure facilities, including Chabahar Port, and explore business opportunities. Facilities at Chabahar Port are being developed in association with Government of India and Indian expertise, and the first phase of the port is operational now.

To make the airline’s cargo services available to a wider global freight market and provide customers with industry-leading visibility across the shipment lifecycle, Unisys Corporation has announced that MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo), the cargo division of Malaysia Airlines, will further enhance the digital transformation of its business using two secure, cloud-based Unisys Digistics digital logistics solutions. Under a five-year engagement, MASkargo will join the Unisys Digi-Portal e-commerce platform to promote its inventory to a wider global community of more than 25,000 buyers – forwarders, airlines, general sales agents, and handlers across 140+ countries.

To create a national logistics e-marketplace as a one-stop shop for exporters and importers, the Centre has come up with a draft national logistics policy, set up a separate fund for start-ups in the logistics sector, and to double employment in the sector. The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has invited comments from stakeholders by February 19 on the draft policy. With regard to the e-marketplace, the draft stated, “It will involve simplification of documentation for exports/imports, and drive transparency through digitisation of processes involving customs, in regulatory, certification and, compliance services.” The idea is to provide an impetus to trade, enhance export competitiveness, improve India’s ranking in the Logistics Performance Index to anywhere between 25 and 30, reduce losses due to agri-wastage to less than five per cent, and bring down logistics costs to 10 per cent of GDP from the current levels of 13-14 per cent. The logistics wing will work with the respective ministries for identification and development of terminals/logistics parks next to specific rail sidings to optimise freight movement for key commodities. “This would result in reduction of first-mile and last-mile costs, drastically bringing down the logistics cost,” the draft stated. Key projects for driving first-mile and last-mile connectivity and to optimise the modal mix will be identified by the logistics wing, per the draft. Expedited clearances will be facilitated for infrastructure projects. Doubling employment in the logistics sector by generating 10-15 million jobs, focusing on enhancing skills in the sector, and encouraging gender diversity will also be on the anvil, the draft stated.

India has firmed up the contours of its ambitious multi-modal programme to reduce logistics costs and make the economy competitive. To pursue the further work on development of integrated multimodal transport infrastructure in the country, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry has organised the Multimodal Transportation Conclave 2019 in the capital. Leena Nandan, IAS, Additional Secretary, Misnistry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India says, “Currently we have excellent but perishable commodities that are produced in the Northeast and there is no reason why we should not be able to take it to the rest of the country or rest of the world. We believe that the Multimodal Logistics Park at Jogigopha can serve as a connecting point for all these products.”

SpiceXpress has announced the launch of its dedicated freighter service between Guwahati and Hong Kong. To start with, SpiceXpress, the dedicated air cargo arm of SpiceJet, will operate a weekly flight between Guwahati and Hong Kong. The company has deployed its Boeing 737 freighter on the route with an approximate carrying capacity of 18 tonnes. SpiceXpress sees a huge potential for exports from North East India and plans to add connecting weekly flights each from Silchar and Imphal to Hong Kong thereby taking the total tally to three flights per week between the regions. Besides fresh fruits and vegetables, SpiceXpress also plans to start export of exotic tea and kiwi wines from Arunachal Pradesh.

As per the latest Lloyds Report, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is the only Indian Container Port to be listed amongst the top 30 Container Ports globally. JNPT notched up five spots, to be 28th on the list, compared to its previous ranking. The good news of rising in the global ranking was shared by the Chairman at the quarterly interactive meeting with all stakeholders, organised at JNPT recently. This was the first stakeholder interactive meeting of the year 2019 and was attended by officials and representatives of Terminal Operators, CFSAI, CSLA, MANSA, INSA, AMTOI, Customs and various Shipping Lines. Another point of adulation at the meeting was, JNPT crossing the 5 million TEUs handling milestone, in 2018.

Ground handling services provider, Çelebi Aviation Holding, has won the ground handling license for Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) for 10 years through an international competitive bid process. This is the third win for Çelebi since last year, after winning the licenses for the Bengaluru and Kannur airports. The company plans to make an investment of $5-6 million at the airport. Murali Ramachandran, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Çelebi Aviation Holding Inc India, said, “The year gone by was a very important year for Çelebi as it marked the 10th anniversary of our India operations. Our partnership with RGIA is an important benchmark in our decade long journey as it sets another milestone towards our efforts of strengthening our presence and commitment in the India aviation market.”

SpiceFresh launched a dedicated freight service to transport fresh produce. To mark the occasion, two flights flew one tonne each of mandarin oranges from Guwahati International Airport (GAU), to Hong Kong (HKG) and Dubai (DBX), according to a Twitter statement from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Chandra Mohan Patowary, Industries and Commerce minister, said, “He hoped that the mandarins produced in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will brighten the future for these states in terms of exporting agri-horti produce from north-eastern states. Authorities from SpiceJet said that its flights will go to Hong Kong with 18 tonnes of freight between Guwahati and Kolkata daily, while both the Hong Kong and Dubai routes will be connected via the company’s international network.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) organised a port study-tour for the largest global congregation ever to visit any port in India. The congregation included 38 government officials from 36 countries, who are part of the Global Strategic Growth Leadership & Sustainable Development program initiated by ITEC with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Neeraj Bansal, Chairman-in-Charge, JNPT, said, “India is a significant contributor to the global container cargo business and JNPT has been the driving force behind this growth, accounting for around 53 per cent of the total containerised cargo volume, across the major ports of India. We are delighted to have government officials from so many countries coming together, here, to understand our role in the global perspective. Such collaborative efforts help in promotion of trade between India and the rest of the world which will give a fillip to Indian economy.” The delegates represented host of nations like, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba, Iraq, Srilanka, Nigeria, Colombia, South Africa, Egypt, Guinea, Peru, Kenya and Vietnam.

According to a PTI report, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has concluded the import and delivery of 50 GE locomotives from US to Indian Railways. All the 50 locomotives were manufactured by GE or the General Electric Division in US, which is an American multinational conglomerate, and the locomotives had been imported to Mundra port. APSEZ dispatched 50 GE locomotives from Mundra port for the Indian Railways. This is a first for Indian shipping and logistics, Adani Ports said.