The Hindu Business Line : Ministry studying fee structures levied by ports

THE eastern region exporters, for long unhappy about port charges and inadequate facilities at ports in this part of the country, are now seriously concerned over the "arbitrary fee structures imposed on them by the shipping lines" and the resultant erosion in their international competitiveness.

At a recent FIEO-organised interactive session in Kolkata, Dr H.A.C. Prasad, Economic Advisor to the Union Ministry of Commerce, has assured exporters that early solutions to port-related problems would be found.

Outlining the exercise initiated at the instance of FIEO to cut down transaction costs on Indian exporters, Mr Prasad said the plan was to first study the fee structures levied by ports across the country and then examine the scope of putting in some kind of uniformity in them.

The second objective, he said, was to map the Indian fee structures against the international ones for major destinations and to find out the deviations. This, he felt, would help Government to pinpoint the areas where the country was uncompetitive. He said steps would be taken to narrow the gap.