New Delhi: Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam on Thursday assured that the Central government will come up with a solution to the ongoing shipping container crunch within a week and said the government is working for short term solution.
Commerce Secretary further said that a long term solution will require the production of containers to increase, but that will take some time.
Speaking to the media persons in the national capital, Subrahmanyam said: “Containers’ freight rate has jumped to 300 per cent-500 per cent year-on-year basis. Cabinet Secretary took a meeting yesterday. A meeting was held at Shipping Ministry. Minister Piyush Goyal will take a meeting with concerned ministers tomorrow.”
“We are working on a short-term solution that might come in a week and long-term solution will take time,” he said.
Indian exporters across products from apparel and agricultural commodities to consumer electronics and furniture are staring at a slump in exports due to a global shortage of containers, and a resultant jump in freight rates, prompting many to seek government intervention.
A severe container shortage triggered by massive congestions at Chinese ports that are either closed or operating at much lower capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions, along with a huge demand for containers in the US and Europe has been pushing container rates, which shot up to record levels in the past 10-15 days.
According to industry experts, charges for carrying a container from or onwards to India are around USD 7,000-10,000, up from USD 3,000-4,000 six to eight months ago.