New
Delhi: Exporters, who are looking at exporting huge
containers from the four Indian ports of Kolkata, Kochi,
Chennai and Tuticorin, will have to shell out more in
terms of freight as the member lines of the India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Ceylon
Conference or IPBC Conference, have decided to increase
the freight rate by $150 per twenty foot container.
The
shipping lines', which includes Shipping Corporation of
India, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, Bangladesh
Shipping Corporation, CMA-CGM and Contship.
The
move is part of the rate restoration programme initiated
by the IPBC Conference a few years back.
The
current freight rate is in the range of $800-$850 per
twenty foot container.
The
hike will take the freight rates to $950-$1,000 per twenty
foot container. The increased rate has come into existence
from January 1, 2004 and is applicable to the four Indian
ports of
Kolkata, Kochi, Chennai and Tuticorin.
IPBC
Conference is offering services between the Indian sub-continent
and Europe. Other foreign shipping lines such as Hapag-Lloyd,
K Line, Malaysian International Shipping Company, Maersk
Sealand, P&O, Safmarine, Yang Ming Line and Zim are
also a part of IPBC Conference.
When
contacted the officials of Karmahom Conference, a body
representing foreign shipping lines operating in India
and Indian National Ship owners Association confirmed
the development.
A senior official with Karmahom Conference said: "We
have taken some initiatives to increase the freight rates
which we have been working at for the last few years.
The increase will be decided by the market forces. But,
in general the hike is around $150 per twenty foot container,
around 16 to 18 per cent higher than the existing rates."
However,
market sources said that though IPBC enforced the hike
from January 1, it is yet to be seen whether the market
will absorb such a rise in the rates.
The
IPBC Conference's plan to increase the freight rate did
not succeed in the past as the market was not in a position
to absorb such increases.
"When
the non-conference members are reportedly charging much
lower rates, which shipper will listen to the conference
members' demand for higher rates?" an industry observer
asked
Under
the rate restoration programme, the member lines of the
IPBC Conference have been trying for some time to restore
the freight rates on the India-Europe route to the 1985
levels, which were nearly double that
of the present freight levels. In March 2000,
an attempt was first made to hike the rates by $300 per
TEU and $600 per FEU under RRI.
However,
the move did not succeed.
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