New Delhi: Exporters, who are looking at exporting huge containers from the four Indian ports of Kolkata, Kochi, Chennai and Tuticorin, will have to shell out more in terms of freight as the member lines of the India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Ceylon Conference or IPBC Conference, have decided to increase the freight rate by $150 per twenty foot container.

The shipping lines', which includes Shipping Corporation of India, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, CMA-CGM and Contship.

The move is part of the rate restoration programme initiated by the IPBC Conference a few years back.

The current freight rate is in the range of $800-$850 per twenty foot container.

The hike will take the freight rates to $950-$1,000 per twenty foot container. The increased rate has come into existence from January 1, 2004 and is applicable to the four Indian ports of
Kolkata, Kochi, Chennai and Tuticorin.

IPBC Conference is offering services between the Indian sub-continent and Europe. Other foreign shipping lines such as Hapag-Lloyd, K Line, Malaysian International Shipping Company, Maersk Sealand, P&O, Safmarine, Yang Ming Line and Zim are also a part of IPBC Conference.

When contacted the officials of Karmahom Conference, a body representing foreign shipping lines operating in India and Indian National Ship owners Association confirmed the development.
A senior official with Karmahom Conference said: "We have taken some initiatives to increase the freight rates which we have been working at for the last few years. The increase will be decided by the market forces. But, in general the hike is around $150 per twenty foot container, around 16 to 18 per cent higher than the existing rates."

However, market sources said that though IPBC enforced the hike from January 1, it is yet to be seen whether the market will absorb such a rise in the rates.

The IPBC Conference's plan to increase the freight rate did not succeed in the past as the market was not in a position to absorb such increases.

"When the non-conference members are reportedly charging much lower rates, which shipper will listen to the conference members' demand for higher rates?" an industry observer asked

Under the rate restoration programme, the member lines of the IPBC Conference have been trying for some time to restore the freight rates on the India-Europe route to the 1985 levels, which were nearly double that of the present freight levels. In March 2000, an attempt was first made to hike the rates by $300 per TEU and $600 per FEU under RRI.

However, the move did not succeed.