India begins direct container shipping service to Myanmar

The Dollar Business Bureau | TheDollarBiz

(L-R) Mr. Jithendra Nimmagadda, COO, KPCT; Mr. C. Sasidhar, Managing Director, Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited; Capt. S. Narula, Director-Liner & Passenger Services, The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd.; Capt. Abdul Majeed Abdul Kareem, The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd; Ms. Vinita Venkatesh, Director, KPCT; Capt. Pradeep Ramachandran, AGM, KPCT

  The state-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has launched a direct shipping line to Myanmar from the Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh, India. Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal (KPCT) already has a direct service to Yangon by Vasi Shipping and the SCI-Yangon service is the second direct service to Myanmar. Direct sailings between India and Myanmar have existed but container services have usually been through the transshipment port of Singapore. Speaking about Krishnapatnam Port’s role, Ms. Vinita Venkatesh, Director, Krishnapatnam Container Terminal, told The Dollar Business, “Connectivity is the key factor behind Krishnapatnam’s choice.  KPCT is well connected by rail to Delhi in the north and by coastal feeder to Tuticorin in the South.” This will help reduce costs of pulses and wood imported from Myanmar. The new line is expected to reduce transit time and overcome the bottlenecks of transportation via ports in Colombo or Singapore, said the Ministry of Commerce. The launch of the shipping line will also enhance India’s connectivity with other Southeast Asian countries under the government’s Look East policy.

Myanmar is a major supplier of pulses. Source - APEDA

Vishwapati Trivedi, India’s Shipping Secretary, said that the new service could be used to reach Mizoram and other North-Eastern States in India by using the Sittwe port in Myanmar, on the Bay of Bengal, situated at the mouth of the Kaladan River. He added that the direct shipping line to Myanmar will boost trade between the two countries. Myanmar is the second neighbouring country (after China) with which India has a trade deficit. In FY2013-14, India’s exports to Myanmar stood at around $787 million, against imports worth around $1.39 billion. India mainly imports wood and food products from Myanmar, with pulses accounting for $459 million or around 33% of total imports from Myanmar in FY2013-14. Most of India’s exports to Myanmar comprise pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, textiles, electronic machinery and equipment. However, cement exports could see a significant increase now. Ms. Vinita Venkatesh says, “Myanmar-India trade has been one-way due to the import of pulses and timber. Container liner companies therefore had to reposition empty containers back to Myanmar from India at their own cost. Now, with the new service, cement companies in Andhra Pradesh have access to Myanmar, which is considered a rising economy and is witnessing a growing demand for cement and construction materials. Due to the large deposits of limestone in and around Andhra Pradesh, the KPCT hinterland has nearly 30 cement producing factories which now have greater access to Myanmar.” SCI is India’s largest shipping company and handles around one-third of the Indian tonnage. The new service to Yangon is available every fortnight, and will be run every week in future. The service rotation is Chennai, Krishnapatnam, Yangon, Colombo and Chennai.    

This article was first published on October 6, 2014.