Competitiveness of Indian Ports

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World Freight payments, as a percentage of total import value (cif), stood at 6.21% in 2000 as per UNCTAD. For developed countries, it stood at 5.21% and for developing
countries it stood at 8.83%. For India, freight payments as a percentage of total import value stood at 10.32% (1997) and estimated to be around 11.4% in 2000. As per UNCTAD, such variation could be explained by differences in trade and shipping patterns, particularly in the liner sector, where the growing importance of feeder operations tend to place those countries not covered by mainline services at a disadvantage. They also reflect insufficient infrastructure facilities, low productivity of terminal equipment, and poor management practices in cargo handling. Nevertheless, these figures reflect the higher logistics costs in India, which are a drag on our export
competitiveness.