COSCO Shipping Ports’ Container volumes grows 5.4 in first half (YoY)

BEIJING: Despite the ongoing trade war between China and the US, Hong Kong-based port operator COSCO Shipping Ports ended the first six months of this year with a total throughput rise of 5.4 percent year on year (yoy).

The total container throughput increased to 59.8 million TEUs in H1 2019 from 56.7 million TEUs recorded in H1 2018.

As explained, the growth was backed by the increased calls from the shipping alliances at the group’s container terminals and the contributions from newly acquired terminals.

In particular, the total throughput from terminal companies in which the group has controlling stake increased by 14.6 percent to 12.4 million TEUs, accounting for 20.8 percent of the group’s total, and the total throughput from non-controlling terminals rose by 3.2 percent to 47.3 million TEUs, accounting for 79.2 percent of the group’s total.

 

Moreover, COSCO Shipping Ports saw a 4.5 percent increase in its revenue. The group reported a revenue of USD 517.9 million in H1 2019, against USD 495.5 million posted in the corresponding period a year earlier.What is more, total comprehensive income for the period surged to USD 162.5 million in H1 2019 from USD 94.9 million seen in H1 2018.

 

Future Prospects

Looking ahead, despite the fact that challenges do remain in the second half of 2019 with various uncertainties, global economic growth is supported to an extent by the market expectation that the low-interest rate policy will be sustained, according to the group.

COSCO Shipping Ports said it would continue to leverage on the synergies with the Ocean Alliance and its parent company, seize opportunities to cooperate with major shipping companies and ports companies to keep boosting throughput.

Port of Amsterdam Transhipment increases in the first half-year by more than 12%

MSTERDAM: Transhipment in the North Sea Canal Area of the seaports of Amsterdam, IJmuiden, Beverwijk and Zaanstad rose in the first half of 2019 to 54.1 million tonnes, an increase of 7%. This was the result of an increase in transhipment in the first six months of this year in the port of Amsterdam by 12.3% to 45.4 million tonnes – another record.

In IJmuiden, transhipment fell by 12.3% to 8.5 million tonnes, Beverwijk recorded a 23% increase to 349,000 tonnes and in Zaanstad transhipment fell by 13.2% to 72,000 tonnes.

 

Records

The increase in Amsterdam in the first half of the year was caused by both liquid and dry bulk and containers. Liquid bulk transhipment rose by 10.6% to 25.9 million tonnes. The 13.8% increase in dry bulk was caused by an increase in the transhipment of coal (23%) and grains (21%) to 17.8 million tonnes. The increase in coal transhipment can be attributed to exports to non-traditional markets. This is not expected to be structural. The increase should also be seen in the context of the sharp fall in recent years. Transhipment in the number of containers also increased by 35%, partly due to Samskip's short sea liner service that the port of Amsterdam focuses on.

 

Decreases

 

These records were also offset by decreases, including in breakbulk (down 20%). There was also a fall in the number of seagoing cruise ships visiting Amsterdam in the first half of the year. In 2019 this was 51, compared to last year’s 74. The introduction of the tourist tax for transit calls on 1 January 2019 led to a number of vessel owners moving to IJmuiden or Rotterdam. The number of river cruise ships that put into Amsterdam in the first half of the year was 1,189, compared to 1,272 a year earlier. This decrease was also caused by the tourist tax. The difference of 83 relates to transit calls. These are cruise ships which, like sea cruises,  are subject to tourist tax.

 

Remainder of 2019

Koen Overtoom, CEO of Port of Amsterdam: ‘After record transhipments in 2018, 2019 has also got off to a very good start. We expect the situation to stabilise in the second half of the year. The increase in coal transhipment has to do with favourable coal pricing conditions. The seasonal build-up of coal stocks later in the year is usually reflected in the transhipment figures. Last year also saw a significant decline in coal transhipment for the German hinterland due to the low water level. Growth in liquid bulk is expected to continue under the current favourable market conditions. We also expect to see further growth in general cargo.’

FIEO feels 15% growth in exports possible in this fiscal

KOLKATA: India needs to move fast when it comes to decision-making. Moreover, issues like refund of embedded taxes and legal complexities on land purchase need to be resolved in order to boost exporters’ confidence. According to Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), despite trade headwinds there is scope for a 15 per cent growth in exports this fiscal.

But, such a growth is possible only when the Centre can ease regulations and increased capacities can be built for increased exports to US, China and the UK.

 

 With a trade war between the US and China, Indian exporters have been receiving a number of business queries. These are expected to materialise over a period of time. Similarly, Brexit will offer greater opportunities for Indian exporters. The Union Commerce Ministry recently identified over 200 products where India’s exports could be increased to the US, replacing Chinese goods, and 150-odd items where exports to China could rise.

 

 Be it the trade-war between US and China, or Brexit, there is opportunities that Indian exporters should take. 

A 15 per cent growth in exports this fiscal is possible. But for that the Centre must step in by easing regulations and other confidence boosting measures, he said.

 According to Saraf, the Centre has to come up with schemes that will help in allocation of land for setting up units. Regulations and legal issues relating to allocation or purchase of land should be taken care of, he said.

No impact of US-China trade war on India: Chief Economic Advisor August 28 , 2019

HYDERABAD: The ongoing trade war between United States of America and China will not have any impact on Indian export which is just below 2 per cent of the global trade, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian said recently. 

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme here, he said the slew of measures announced by the Centre for the revival of muted growth in the economy were in the right direction, though it was necessary to focus on the 'structural reforms.' 

"Our exports share is still very small. Our share of global export trade itself is about 2%. Therefore, we still have enormous opportunity to grow. Even if there is actually some shrinkage in the pie of the global trade, still we can grow our pie. Exports cannot grow unless actually we emphasise on productivity, he said when asked about the impact of the tariff war between US and China on India.

Customs & Post move forward with exchange of Electronic Advance Data

BRUSSELS: Under the auspices of the SECUREX Project, the WCO and the UPU conducted a joint national technical assistance mission to India recently to review the progress and provide them further assistance with the implementation of electronic advance data (EAD) between Customs and Post.

This joint WCO-UPU technical assistance mission was aimed at strengthening the existing cooperative relationship between India Customs and Post and further enhancing digital solutions for information exchange between them for effective risk-management and improved Customs-postal clearance processes.

Based on the current national situation, experts from the WCO and the UPU guided the participants through all the steps and associated processes for the initiation, establishment, testing and launch of the EAD exchange mechanism. In this context, legal and regulatory frameworks, cooperation arrangements, business processes, technical specifications and IT systems, as well as associated WCO and UPU instruments, standards, and tools were examined and discussed. Over 50 participants from India Customs and Post benefited from the mission.

During the mission, the WCO and UPU experts, through detailed face-to-face interactions with Postal and Customs officials, as well as field studies, carried out a thorough diagnostics of the current situation with regard to the progress under the project and reviewed ongoing preparedness, in particular the IT preparedness for the electronic interface between Customs Declaration Systems (CDS) currently being tested by India Post and Customs EDI system.

Additionally, participants deepened their knowledge on practical aspects of the data capture, processing, transmission and use for effective risk management and service delivery, along with related best practices and case studies. Key issues relating to the establishment of Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) with other designated operators were also discussed.

India Post has already been accredited as an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO). Indian Customs and Post acknowledged the need for enhancing postal chain security through a harmonized implementation of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards and the UPU Security Standards (S58 and S59), as well as taking tangible steps for enhancing compliance to AEO requirements and enjoying AEO benefits.

Currently, India is testing the CDS and exploring its interface with Customs EDI system and eventually with Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT) - Indian Customs Single Window. Based on the standards, tools and best practices, India Post and Customs have outlined a broad action plan 2020
to exchange advance electronic data on inbound and outbound postal items, once the CDS goes into the full production phase and they start receiving advance electronic data from origin posts, said a WCO release.

India to import more from US : Prime Minister Narendra Modi

BIARRITZ: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently informed President Donald Trump that India plans to further step up imports, including oil, from the US and that USD 4 billion worth of imports were already "in the pipeline", as the two countries sought to overcome their differences on tariffs and market access. 

The Modi-Trump meeting assumes significance in the wake of the strain that has popped up in the bilateral relationship on a host of trade and economic issues. 

Meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in the French city of Biarritz, where India was a special invitee, Modi and Trump agreed that preferably before the Prime Minister visits US next month, there will be an interaction between their Trade Ministers at which "the whole range of trade issues will be discussed," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said. India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at USD 47.9 billion, while imports were at USD 26.7 billion. 

The trade balance is in favour of India.  The Foreign Secretary described the bilateral meeting between Modi and Trump as a very positive one.

DP World, UAE Region and Jafza unlocking potential in New Markets for Indian Exports

DUBAI: DP World, UAE Region, the leading trade enabler, and Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) showcased their capabilities and offerings at the FoodPro exhibition and conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Chennai to support and facilitate Indian Food & Beverage (F&B) exports.

 

The DP World team engaged with F&B companies looking to expand their businesses outside of India and familiarised them with strategic solutions on offer, including plug-and-play platforms, end-to-end supply chain solutions, value-added services, and an investment platform.

With bilateral trade between India and the UAE surpassing $60 billion in 2018 and poised to grow exponentially, the economic relationship between the countries has strengthened. India is now the second-largest trading partner of the UAE behind China. In support of this activity, Jebel Ali Port and Jafza provide a Multimodal trade, logistics, and industrial hub that further enhances the facility’s role as India’s gateway to the world by facilitating F&B exports and opening new markets for Indian traders. The Jebel Ali hub is the preferred commercial gateway to a region of 3.5 billion people. This access sustains Dubai’s position as the largest re-export centre for food products, catering to a vast import-dependent region from the GCC to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), East Africa and Subcontinent markets.

 

Complementing the port facility is Jafza’s dedicated food and beverage cluster, spreading over 1.2 million square metres, and including 467 businesses from 66 countries, employing more than 5,880 people. Jafza also offers industry-specific value-added services, including packaging, storage, bagging and sorting, stuffing, palletising, and transportation.

The Free Zone also provides bonded and non-bonded zones supporting farm-to-shelf supply chain activities, common user facilities for tea and coffee trading and processing as well as sugar, grains, pulses, meat, edible oil, seeds, and other ready-to-consume food items. It is also home to the world’s largest port-based sugar refinery.

 

Mohammed Al Muallem, CEO and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region and CEO of Jafza, said: “We aim to reach out to Indian businesses seeking new markets internationally, especially from the F&B sector. The India-UAE Bridge synergies between DP World, UAE Region and India and the ports and logistics capabilities in both countries enable us to offer integrated supply chain solutions to businesses through our unique end-to-end solutions. 

 

We deliver the most productive, efficient and safe trading solutions by thinking ahead, foreseeing change and innovation.

“The India-UAE Bridge is a mutually beneficial initiative. India is the UAE’s second-largest trade partner, and as the region’s leading trade enabler, we are keen to sustain and build on our excellent partnership and create a relationship that will allow both our countries to prosper. Our flagship facilities, Jebel Ali Port and Jafza, are well-positioned to integrate our assets, providing the best-in-class business and logistics support to Indian companies operating in Jafza.”