Team News Riveting
Mumbai, July 12
Essar Shipping Ltd, part of Essar Global Fund Ltd’s services and technology portfolio, would assist in strengthening bi-lateral trade between India and Bangladesh by deploying two of its handy size vessels to ferry rice.
Bangladesh is set to buy 150,000 tonnes of rice from India under an agreement. It would be the first such bilateral deal in the last three years.
“Two of its handy size vessels Tvisha and Tuhina, weighing 13,000 DWT, have been engaged in exports of rice from India to Bangladesh as per the recent bilateral-trade agreement signed between the two countries,” Essar Shipping said.
Ranjit Singh, CEO, Essar Shipping said, “We are glad to extend our support and services to meet Bangladesh’s rising demand for rice. With India’s five years pulse import deal with Myanmar, we have bagged a shipment contract for these vessels which is to begin operations from 20th July. As new export deals are slated to be signed with the neighbouring nations in the coming months, our vessels will also be engaged in trade within this region. Also, as we witness the COVID wave cooling off across nations, we are hopeful to make the most of this opportunity and capitalise on this trade.”
Both these vessels have been continuously employed in back-to-back business to export rice since March 2021. India saw a surge in farm exports in FY21, a pandemic year. The surge was driven by record-high sales of rice-13.9 million tonne (MT) of non-basmati and 4.6 MT of basmati and sales of 2.08 MT of wheat, a six-year high. In fact, growing demand for rice overseas is expected to be a big win for exporters of the commodity in India.
Bangladesh, the world’s third-biggest rice producer with an output of almost 35 million tonnes a year, relies on imports from time to time to cope with shortages caused by natural disasters such as floods or drought.
Essar Shipping is India’s second largest private sector shipping company, which has the youngest fleet in the country with a combined deadweight tonnage of 1.12 million.
