Halifax Port offers free space for Indian merchandise
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Mrs. Tinoo Joshi, Secretary General, FIEO (2nd from right) along with (from left) Dr. R K Dhawan, Chairman, FIEO (NR); Mr. Navratan Samdria, Past President, FIEO, and Mr. Kuldeep Wattal, representing Carpet Export Sector. |
Halifax Port has offered free of cost 5,000 square feet convention centre for 15 days to small and medium Indian exporters for showcasing their merchandise and has asked FIEO to mobilise the exporters for the purpose. The Chairman of the Port, Mr. Ian Oulton made this announcement in a meeting with FIEO at New Delhi on 25th May.
The meeting was held between a delegation comprising of senior representatives from the Port of Halifax, Canada, which included its President & CEO Ms Karen Oldfield and its Ambassador Mr. Cyrus Katgara, apart from Mr. Oulton, and FIEO members. It aimed at exploring the possibilities of setting up an offshore distribution hub at the Port for Indian goods and providing infrastructural support services and enhanced market access by the Port Authorities to small and medium exporters from India.
The issues discussed at the meeting were extending free period for export consignments, detention, cost of demurrage; subsidizing levies such as terminal handling charges and other costs; comparative frequency of vessels visiting the Port of Halifax vis-à-vis vessels calling on New York, Los Angeles or Seattle; access to marketing data from the Port of Halifax in terms of buyers whose consignments come to the Port and the commodities that are being imported and exported to/from the port; and organizing country specific or product specific international trade fairs periodically for developing the Port as an important market access hub.
FIEO representatives also discussed the comparative advantages of Port of Halifax vis-à-vis other Ports in Canada and US in terms of transportation, warehousing and distribution costs.
It was observed during the discussion that the consignments sent to the Port of Halifax for warehousing would require a sound marketing and distribution facility at the Port premises to enable the storage and display of the merchandise and a suitable distribution network to ensure that the products reach the major retail outlets both in the US and Canada. FIEO representatives enquired with the Port authorities if there were any such facilities already existing and, if so, the cost to be borne by the exporter to avail these facilities. They also enquired if the Port had warehousing arrangements to meet the requirements of any bulk consignments from India.
Earlier, initiating the discussion FIEO Secretary General Ms. Tinoo Joshi emphasized the importance of an offshore distribution hub from the perspective of Indian exporting community. She informed that in the recent meetings with US Trade Representative, the Indian government had expressed confidence that trade with US would double in the next three years and accordingly commensurate facilities such as warehousing, distribution and marketing would be required to optimize business potential. Some of the product sectors like handicraft, textile, leather, carpet, chemical and engineering were already exploring such possibilities for expanding their markets in the US and Canada, she informed further.
While highlighting the specific advantages of doing business at the Port of Halifax, Mr Ian Oulton and Ms Karen Oldfield informed that an MoU had been signed with Suez Canal authorities which had made the Port closer to India by 1840 nautical miles than any other port on North America’s West Coast. The MoU had reduced the transit time for Indian merchandise by four days, the Port Authorities claimed.
During the meeting, FIEO Northern Region Chairman Dr. R. K. Dhawan stated that the Port of Halifax was strategically located in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and could provide excellent market access to Mid-West America and Canada. He, however, pointed out that the Port Authorities need to impress their government for visa facilitation to Indian exporters.
Dr. Dhawan also requested the Port Authorities to inform the exporters present in the meeting about the incentives that could be made available by the local government of the province of Nova Scotia to Indian exporting community. The Port Authorities assured to do the needful in this regard.
On this occasion, a former President of FIEO Mr. Navratan Samdria said Indian exporters might send their consignments directly or set up an SPV consortium registered at the Port which could take up the responsibility of marketing and distribution, in which case, a revenue sharing formula needs to be worked out. Mr. Samdria, who has also served the office of Chairman of Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, stressed the need for periodically organizing country specific or product specific international trade fairs for developing the Port as an important market access hub.
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A former Chairman of Carpet Export Promotion Council Mr. Wattal wanted to know the details with regard to consignee status, risk factor and various management alternatives including third party involvement in offshore marketing. FIEO members enquired about the tax levied by the Port on the incoming cargo for various sectors to assess how it would affect the competitiveness of their products in Canada or US. The Port Authorities clarified that a flat 4% tax was being levied on all incoming cargo with minimal documentation requirements. |
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From left, Mr. Ian Oulton, Chairman, Port of Halifax; Ms. Karen Oldfield, President/CEO, Port of Halifax; Mr. Cyrus Katgara, Ambassador, Port of Halifax; Mr. Sandeep Manaktala, Cosmique Global and a participant. |
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"AUSPLAS" Melbourne Exhibition Centre September 2008 (TBC) Australia’s International exhibition for the plastics and rubber industry equipment, raw materials, products and services, specialty chemicals, polymers and other materials. Contact: Exhibition Management Pty Ltd. & or Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association. www.exhibitionmanagement.com.au |
