Boosting Export Competitiveness: India Cuts Port Charges & Buys Vessels

New Delhi, Sep 20 (PTI) The government's measures such as cutting certain port charges and purchasing additional container vessels by Shipping Corp will help boost export competitiveness, Chairman of the CII national committee on EXIM Sanjay Budhia said on Friday.

He said that these initiatives will significantly benefit the Indian industry by easing export operations.

"This move will reduce logistical bottlenecks, enhance cost efficiency for exporters, and improve the competitiveness of Indian goods in global markets," Budhia, who is also Managing Director of Patton Group, said.

Industries will experience smoother trade flows, shorter delivery times, and lower costs, fostering growth in exports and making Indian products more attractive to international buyers, he added.

The measures will also significantly improve export competitiveness by decreasing the overall costs involved in shipping goods and will help make Indian exports more competitively priced in international markets, Budhia said.

"It would also help in attracting new exporters, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that were previously deterred by high logistics costs," he said.

Lower costs at the port level can also stimulate higher volumes of trade, leading to economies of scale, further reducing logistics costs and enhancing overall export competitiveness, he added.

"The step to buy five container vessels to boost the cargo handling capacity is also well appreciated since this will help address the issue of shortages of shipping grade containers, which often leads to higher freight rates for Indian containers," Budhai said.