Fix infrastructure or face exports fall: Khullar

Speaking on Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority’s award function here, he said problems like transportation and freight costs and poor handling capacities may adversely impact India’s exports. “...what we are going to do in infrastructure over the next five years, because if we don’t attend to those problems in the next five years, forget agricultural exports, our entire export effort is going to be seriously jeopardised,” Khullar said.

According to Commerce Ministry, average cost to move a container within India is US$945, more than double of China’s US$460, Malaysia’s US$450 and Vietnam’s US$625.

Also, the average freight revenue per-tonne kilometre is US$395 in India, compared to US$185 in China, US$281 in South Africa and US$100 in the US.

He said while other problems also plague the agricultural exporters, but those are in the nature of generic constraints to all exporters.