India has a massive stockpile of wheat which is surplus to its requirements.  The State Trading Corporation is inviting wheat traders to buy this surplus stock.  If the offer is well received, this huge amount of exports will help to utilise space on supramax shipping which is operating below capacity.

Five new offices have been opened at Chennai port zero gate in India in order to speed up the customs clearance of freight containers. The new facility was opened officially by the Shipping Secretary, P.K. Sinha, last Friday. Local logistics suppliers said that this solution is suitable only on a temporary basis, and that they needed [...]

Hyderabad in India is aiming to become the main air freight hub for the country. Airlines are increasing their freighter services to and from Hyderabad, improving links with East and North Asia. The airport is within two hours flying time of every other major airport in India, which would make it an ideal gateway for [...]

Jawaharlal Nehru Port in India has revealed plans for a fifth container terminal to accommodate the increase in freight volumes which they are expecting.  This is a long term project for India’s largest container gateway. Shipping lines have been forced in recent months to miss calling at the port and re-route to further up the [...]

The Indian Ministry of Shipping unveiled plans to triple its exports of merchandise by March 2017.  Part of the plan is to create seven new ports, as so far export growth has been limited by inadequate investment in infrastructure. Freight handling is extremely slow in Indian ports compared with major ports in the rest of [...]

A new container terminal at the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka will be built with the help of finance from China. The agreement between Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo International Container Terminals (a consortium between a Chinese and Sri Lankan company) was signed in Shenzhen, China.  The Chinese government officially invited Sri Lankan [...]

With container movement already being delayed due to lack of gates, the situation has now been made worse by a flash strike which started on Friday. As of yesterday morning, over 500 vehicles, including export containers, lined up for over 8 km up to Ernavur in North Chennai waiting to enter the port. The strike means [...]

Food exports from Scotland passed £1bn last year according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs.  Sales of salmon and potatoes were particularly strong, while nearly two thirds of food sales came from fish and shellfish, which increased by 12% in the year.  Exports were helped by a fall in the value of sterling. The [...]

Container shipping lines are imposing surcharges on shippers, to recoup the extra costs caused by drastic congestion at Mumbai, the busiest port in India.  The port has been suffering equipment failure, work to replace cranes and monsoon delays. The Western India Shippers’ Association, which represents about 130 exporters and importers, have advised that six shipping [...]

India’s Ministry of Shipping is forming a new port operating and shipping company called Indian Ports Global.  The company will act as the investment arm of the Ministry and will operate terminals all over the world to help boost trade and secure capacity for Indian Shipping Lines. The new company, Indian Ports Global (IPG), will [...]

The World Bank is to  provide  a $975 million loan for a freight only railway line to enable more efficient movement of raw materials and goods between Northern and Eastern India. The loan  will finance approx 1,100 km of the 1,800 Km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor [Ludhiana-Delhi-Mughal Sarai] in three phases. The loan will mature in [...]