The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Fresh curbs belie rice shippers’ hopes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 23, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Fresh curbs belie rice shippers’ hopes

T. Madhusudana Rao

Loading held up in six vessels; suppliers want end to impasse

At least half a dozen ships remain empty
Our future appears bleak, says a rice supplier

Kakinada: Rice shippers’ hopes of early shipment of rice at least to the extent loaded up to October 15, remain shattered as the customs authorities issued another order, the second within a span of two days, stopping the loading of rice and also sailing of the part loaded vessels, superseding the earlier orders of extending some relief.

As a result, of the 14 rice vessels anchored, the loading of rice was held up half way in six vessels while the working is yet to commence in seven ships. One vessel ‘m. v. Atadaru’, which is waiting for sailing with 27237 tonnes of rice already loaded, has to cancel its schedule owing to the new restriction. The lone and lucky vessel sailed away after the imposition of the ban is ‘m.v. Hilal-II’, that too three-day delay despite complying with the rules laid down under the export policy. It has left the port on Friday with 22796 tonnes of rice.

Latest order

The latest order of the customs authorities have crippled the entire sections depended upon the rice exports.

“It is the last straw on the camel’s back. Already the exporters suffered a lot on account of unhealthy competition and lower margins on one side and the government slashing the DEPB incentive from 3 per cent to one and half per cent on the others. At least half a dozen ships are empty and if the impasse continues, the shippers have to bear the brunt of paying demurrage, which may at one point of time, will be more than the value of the cargo,” lamented a leading shipping agent.

More pathetic is the version of another rice supplier who already received advance payment for the rice from the foreign buyers. The rice is in port godowns and two ships chartered by them are waiting for the past one-week for loading of 17,000 tonnes under deal worth 50 lakh dollars. Our future is bleak and dooms day is not far off for several of us,” he said.

Suresh Kumar Sarma, president of the Customs, Clearing and Forwarding Agents’ Association, wanted the government to allow at least the existing ships in the port to complete the loading of rice and sail away without any hindrance. “It is not proper either to withhold the ships for days together or sending them empty,” he remarked.

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