Standards are both important and difficult to achieve when it comes to logistics. There are so many parties involved. The importance of standards becomes apparent when we look at some of the best-known standards in the industry. Take for example the shipping container. Shipping containers have been used since the end of the 19th century, but they weren’t standardized until 1968 when the TEU was established. The same goes for wooden pallets. And still, there are many variations.<h3>Standardization. IT’s essential.</h3>With the digitalization of freight, the importance of IT standards has become apparent as well. There are many different IT systems used in the procurement, production, and distribution of products. Many of these IT systems (should) communicate with each other, which means they need to be connected. As many of these systems have their own “standards” the integration of these systems is challenging, to say the least. Digitalization has enormous potential, but all systems should be easily interconnected.<h3>Digitalization, standardization and interoperability</h3>I was glad to learn that 5 of the largest ocean carriers have announced the launch of a digital standards association that intends to achieve "digitalisation, standardisation and interoperability" in the container shipping industry. IT executives from CMA CGM, Hapa-Lloyd, Maersk, MSC, and ONE want to create common information technology standards, which are to be openly available to the whole industry.<h3>No worries, we have the platform</h3>The new association is non-profit and aimed at decreasing red tape and increasing transparency. They have also clearly stated that they do not intend to develop or operate any kind of digital platform. As a digital platform that is designed to make the ocean shipping process more efficient and transparent, Cogoport is looking at these developments with interest. Red tape and lack of transparency are some of the key issues in moving freight that our founders want to solve.<h3>Get on board, please!</h3>It’s good to see carriers are starting to work together to solve some of the inefficiencies in our industry. We hope more stakeholders will join this initiative, as standardization and interoperability will increase the potential of the digital landscape that keeps growing, moving closer to the efficient, transparent and free movement of freight across the globe.Let’s face it, it has been long overdue. And I think they should expand their joint effort beyond IT.<h3>Money on the Table</h3>Carriers should not only be working together on IT standards, but they should also work together on managing empty containers. Today carriers each have their own proprietary container pool. Some interchange takes place, but there is a lot of money left on the table.Empty containers have to be repositioned and there is nothing much we can do about that. The number of containers that need to be repositioned can be influenced though. What is needed is a shared pool of containers. Currently, shipping companies are moving empty containers from a yard in location A to their customer in location B, while a competitor is shipping an empty container from a yard near location B to their customer near location A. And this is not an exception.<h3>Location, Location, Location... and Visibility</h3>Visibility is key, though. Shipping companies need to make sure they know where containers are. Location data should be correct and up to date for empties. Sharing them can then prevent unnecessary movement of these empties and customers can be sent a container from the closest yard that has one available.This will decrease the number of miles empties need to be shipped, while also increasing the number of times a container can be loaded and shipped in a year. Everybody wins.

IT Standards? How About Pooling Empty Containers!

Launch
of a New Consolidated Shipping Line - Ocean Network Express1st of April 2018 marked the entry
of another large container shipping line – Ocean Network Express (ONE), formed
by integrating the businesses of NYK, MOL, and “K” Line. 



The three companies have jointly invested USD 3
billion in the integrated business with 38 per
cent of the share held by NYK, and the remaining 62 per cent split equally between MOL and “K” Line. 



According to a press release, through the
joint venture, the Japanese shipping lines will be able to provide better services,
offer competitive rates, and optimize the utilization of their shared fleet of
230 ships having a carrying capacity of 1,440,000 TEUs. It will offer services
to 100 countries, covering more than 200 major ports via 85 services.



An&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/asia/maersk-tankers-splashes-out-300m-nine-mrs-shi?highlight=Ik9jZWFuIE5ldHdvcmsgRXhwcmVzcyI">article</a> in Seatrade
Maritime News mentioned “low oil prices, sluggish cargo demand, oversupply
of trade capacity, and container freight rates at historic lows” as the reason
given for consolidation by MOL, NYK, and “K” Line. According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://splash247.com/ocean-network-express-jeremy-nixon-ready-april-one/">report</a> in The
Loadstar,&nbsp;the newly formed company will be able to save costs amounting to USD 440 million in the first year of operations and almost double the savings
going forth. 



While we will only know at the end of the
fiscal year how much of the estimated cost saving target has been achieved and
whether the investment of USD 3 billion translates into improved bottom line, for
now the merger seems to be working for the Japanese shipping giants. After the
consolidation, ONE has emerged as the 6th largest container shipping
line in the world. This puts it in line with the current reigning companies in container shipping - Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, COSCO, and Hapag-Lloyd. 



Other major mergers and acquisitions (2014 –
2017)



The shipping industry has seen many strategic
mergers and acquisitions throughout its history. This trend has re-emerged
after a hiatus of almost 7 – 8 years. In fact, since 2014, the industry has
been witnessing a flurry of business consolidations in the form of joint
ventures, alliances, mergers and acquisitions led by some of the top global
container shipping lines.&nbsp;Some of the major mergers and acquisitions during this period that have created new synergies in the industry are:

2014&nbsp;<ul><li>Merger of Hapag Lloyd and CSAV's container business </li></ul>

2015&nbsp;<ul><li>Hamburg Süd's acquisition of CCNI’s container business </li><li>PIL's acquisition of Marina
Express Lines </li></ul>



2016<ul><li>Merger of Cosco Group and China Shipping. The merged entity has been rebranded as&nbsp; Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. </li><li>CMA CGM SA's acquisition of Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. </li><li>MOL, NYK and ‘K’ Line
announce business integration. Ocean Network Express (ONE), the new entity formed from the merger starts its operations from 1st April, 2018. </li><li>Maersk Lines' acquisition of Hamburg
Süd. Hamburg Süd continues to operate as a separate brand after the acquisition.&nbsp; </li></ul>







2017&nbsp;<ul><li>Hapag Lloyd's acquisition of UASC </li><li>Cosco Shipping's offer to buy OOCL. OOCL to continue to operate as a separate brand after the acquisition.&nbsp; </li></ul>

Source:
joc.comAccording to industry analysts, this is an effort by shipping lines to protect market share, enter new markets, optimize space utilization, and control operating costs. <pclass="msonormal">New Ocean
Alliances – Another effort at business consolidation</pclass="msonormal">In 2017, the industry also witnessed a
restructuring of the Ocean Alliances. Partnerships that emerged after this reorganisation have further consolidated the industry,
putting a major chunk of the market share in the hands of a few select
container lines. Currently, according to the rankings on Alphaliner, more than 80 per
cent of the container shipping market is controlled by the top ten shipping
lines. Among them, 68 per cent of the
container business is controlled by shipping lines holding the first 6
positions namely – Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, COSCO, Hapag-Lloyd, and ONE. <img src="https://prod-cogoport.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/6d0d10d31e8665df819de4dd0e84867a/Cogoport_M%26A%20Article_R1-02.png" alt="Container Shipping Line's Market Share" class="center" width=""> <pclass="msonormal" style="text-align:justify">Source:
Alphaliner.com</pclass="msonormal">Impact
of M&amp;A on the Industry While world markets and other industries seem
to be expanding globally with new players entering the markets, the shipping
sector seems to be doing just the opposite. Looking at how the industry is consolidating,
it raises concerns regarding survivability of smaller or independent
operators in the business. Would they eventually be driven out of business – by
way of acquisition by a market leader or by becoming uncompetitive like Hanjin
Shipping in 2016? This trend also raises a question on the market
structure of the industry post all possible alliances have been formed. Will
the business integration lead to trade route monopolies or at best an oligopoly
market, thus limiting options available to shippers?Shipping lines are citing reducing operational
costs and utilising overcapacity as the main benefits of
combining their businesses.&nbsp;But, will these mergers and acquisitions really help them
improve their operating margins, deliver the profits that the container&nbsp;shipping&nbsp;industry has been
striving to achieve after the global recession in 2008? &nbsp;A case in point is Hapag Llyods' acquisition of CSAV and UASC. The company’s merger with CSAV in 2014 and its
acquisition of UASC in 2017 has started to show results. An <a href="https://shippingwatch.com/carriers/article9680626.ece">analysis</a> by
SeaIntel Maritime Analysis, shows that the German Carrier has lost out on
efficiency by 11% with regards to volume of containers handled and number of
land-based employees in 2017. Analysts cite the two mergers for the drop in
efficiency. While Hapag Lloyd is expecting a gain of USD 800 million as a result of the two mergers, according to the
article in Shippingwatch it will come
at a cost of cutting down manpower in the acquired companies. Similarly, CSAV, Hapag Lloyds' major
shareholder has also reported
a loss of USD 201.4 million after the holding company’s acquisition of UASC. Results such as these raise doubt on the utility of mergers and acquisitions.&nbsp;






While this is just one example, soon results of other companies who have taken the M&amp;A route to increase profitability and improve service offering will be available.&nbsp;Till then, the trade will have to wait and watch to see if the consolidation will have the desired impact on container shipping industry and help it weather the low and high tides of international trade

Merger & Acquisition: Cure for Container Shipping

India has
managed to break into the top 100 countries in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking. In the
latest rankings published by the World Bank, India was ranked 100. This is a
major progress from the previous year’s rank of 130. 



While this
is an important achievement for the country, India is still lagging behind in
certain important parameters like Trading across Borders, where it is ranked
146 among 190 countries. 



What is Trading across Borders ranking



The
Trading across Borders parameter is important as it measures the efficiency
with which certain compliances associated with the import-export procedure are
carried out. 



For rating performance on Trading across Borders, the World Bank looks at the time and
the cost attached with the logistical process involved in export-import trade of a
country.&nbsp;To arrive at a ranking, World Bank studies the time and the cost
(excluding tariff) attached with 3 sets of procedures namely - documentary
compliance, border compliance, and domestic transport involved in the entire
export-import procedure. 



The digitialisation drive by Ministry
of Shipping



To
improve upon this facet of international trade, the Ministry of Shipping has
made&nbsp;it mandatory to exchange/transfer trade documents - e-invoice, e-payment, and e-Delivery Order - in digital form via the
Port Community System (PCS). Earlier this facility was available only for DPD
container clearance at JNPT Port, but now with the latest notification (link
given below), the PCS facility has been extended to all stakeholders like
terminals, CFSs, ICDs, and other Major Ports where the Port Community System is
available.&nbsp;The Port
Community System (PCS) is the integrated web-based message exchange platform for the entire maritime community
operated by Indian Ports Association (IPA).



The PCS is
directly linked to ICEGate, a portal operated by the Customs to digitalise trade processes
such as filing of import and export documentation, payment, and document status
tracking. This will help in easy transfer of information from one system to
another. (Source: Ministry
of Shipping Notification)



Is it enough?



While digitizing
these processes will definitely help in improving the turnaround time of the
listed processes, at the same time, it is also important to note that these are
not the only issues at Indian Ports that affect the turnaround time of the
shipments. 



According
to the <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/Ss11a6xyvpnhWRTXcaoRnM/Better-port-ecosystem-to-help-boost-Indias-ease-of-doing-bu.html">report</a>,
Port Logistics: Issues and Challenges in
India, authorized by the Niti Aayog, published by Dun &amp;
Bradstreet (DNB) in February 2018, port
congestion, shipping line issues and charges, regulatory clearances, customs
clearances, documentation and paperwork are the major issues that result in
detention and demurrage charges incurred by importers. In other words, these
issues are responsible for causing a delay in processing shipments. 



Among the
points listed in the DNB report, port congestion is the main pain point. If our
ports can work on improving infrastructure issues, it would be easier to implement
and execute the new initiatives. 



Instead of
looking at these parameters separately, it would probably be better if the policy
framers looked at the entire trade activity holistically – which includes documentation,
shipping lines, port operations, traders, policies and laws of trade, and
service providers like CFS, stevedores, rail and road transporters, and terminal
operators. 



A
holistic approach would ensure that in an attempt to fix one problem, we would
not give rise to or disrupt another sector of the trade. The loss
of business and employment suffered by CFS operators providing service when
the DPD model was extended to all importers at JNPT is a case in point. 







To
know more about Direct Port Delivery, click <a href="https://www.cogoport.com/en-IN/blogs/direct-port-delivery">here</a>.Sources:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/businessready">Ease of Doing Business Ranking,
World Bank</a>

<a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/businessready">Trading
across Borders, World Bank</a>

Ministry of Shipping
Notification

Digitalizing Shipping: Boosting India's Business

e-Way Bill Update: CGST Amendment Rules 2018

Businesses are becoming increasingly global and complex in nature. In such an environment, a supply chain that is complicated, lacks transparency, and operates in silos is no longer viable. Today, to win and have a competitive edge, organizations need to build an integrated supply chain.<a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/message/N4CI7UNDFE2ZM1?autoload=1&amp;app_absent=0&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 3.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a><h3>How Will Supply Chain Integration Benefit Organizations?</h3>An integrated supply chain will help streamline the business process and provide the following benefits:<ol><li>Improves collaboration: Integration will connect various stages of the supply chain into a single process. This, in turn, will create an environment that will help improve collaboration among the stakeholders of the different processes in the supply chain. </li><li>Reduces cost: Complicated and disconnected supply chains increase the operating costs without adding any actual value to the product quality. Integrating various processes and systems in the supply chain enables organizations to identify and remove unnecessary costs without affecting product or service quality. </li><li>Adds agility: An integrated supply chain is agile. It is more flexible and responsive to unscheduled demands made by the business or changes in the industry. Collaboration among all the functions of the supply chain and timely sharing of data gathered at each touch point is critical to achieve agility. </li><li>Simplifies the process: Large supply chains are known for their cumbersome and varied processes. This is not only time consuming, but also creates confusion among the different departments. Integration brings the entire supply chain on a single platform, thus simplifying the systems and processes.&nbsp; </li><li>Increases transparency:&nbsp;Integration allows for easy access and verification of information and data. It also lets relevant authorities within the system keep track of how the information is being used and monitor critical functions of the supply chain. </li><li>Saves time:&nbsp;Integration saves time spent on the follow up one process-stakeholder needs to do with another process-stakeholder to get the required information on time. This saved time can be used productively by employees in other important work. </li></ol>In addition to the above benefits, in the long run, integrating the supply chain can enable organizations to analyse and understand future needs of the business and start building capacity and business strategy over time.<a href="https://cogoport.com/signup/en-IN/?utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog-Banner-Portal-3.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a><h3>Is this Enough?</h3>No. To get exponential benefits of integration, in addition to connecting an organization’s supply chain, it is also necessary to bring external service providers into the system - i.e. integrate the entire ecosystem in which your business operates.The following sample case study will highlight why it has become an urgent need to integrate not only your internal but also external supply chain system.ABC Auto Parts Pvt. Ltd., manufactures automobile spare parts. They have state of the art manufacturing facilities. Over time, the company has also managed to integrate and create a uniform process across its sales, administration, operations and manufacturing facilities. Within the company, information and processes flow seamlessly and without any hindrances.ABC sells to the local market and also exports its products around the globe. Since the scope of their business is large, they have a separate department for handling the transportation and export formalities.Despite the dedicated manpower, more often than not, there is some glitch or another that creates a delay in their shipments. Issues like - the contracted trucking company’s trucks not arriving on time, spending a lot of time searching for best ocean freight rates in the market, negotiating with forwarders or shipping lines, collecting documents from various vendors, delay in getting customs clearance, extensive follow up with various vendors, conducting a reference check every time a new vendor is added, monitoring the shipments till it reaches the final destination, etc., are common and take up a lot of time of the employees without adding any real value to the organization. Resolving these problems sometimes needs intervention from senior management, thus creating a bottleneck and adding to the delay.<a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/message/N4CI7UNDFE2ZM1?autoload=1&amp;app_absent=0&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 1.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a>ABC Auto Parts is a classic case of a company that is suffering not due to its own inefficiency but that of the ecosystem that it operates in.&nbsp;While as a single organization, the different service providers in the ecosystem may not be inefficient but the diverse platforms used, varied processes, business language, timelines, and priorities make one organization seem inefficient to another.It is in such situations that we realise how important and urgent it is to bring all the participants in the supply chain - organizations and vendors who provide services like transport, customs clearance, packaging, insurance, and tracking of shipments till delivery to destination - on a single platform.<h3>Can it Be Done? </h3>Yes, it can and it is being done by using technology to create a digital supply chain.New and advanced technology has made it possible to build a single platform where all the players in the ecosystem can connect, collaborate, and complete the supply chain cycle. The supply chain ecosystem (manufacturers, marketers, logistics, and other service providers) too has started to realise the benefits of collaboration, communication and real-time exchange of data and information among themselves.<pdir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;">This realisation has added anurgency to create an integrated and digital supply chain. It is no longer a requirement for the future, it is a demand that needs to be met now</pdir="ltr"><pdir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.cogoport.com/signup">Register</a> on Cogoport now to experience how a digital freight management platform works and to integrate your organization’s shipping process. </pdir="ltr">

Need of the Hour - An Integrated Supply Chain

In order to expand business presence across the world, a company needs to have a global product reach. It is desirable for companies to have a streamlined delivery mechanism in place, to bridge the gap between the consumers and them. <h3>Going Global</h3>Before planning the entire course of the shipment, you need to make sure that the goods you want to ship are not prohibited or restricted items in the destination country. You can do that by visiting official customs websites of the countries. <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/message/N4CI7UNDFE2ZM1?autoload=1&amp;app_absent=0&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 1.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a>Some countries are easier to ship to than others. For example, India requires more personal documentation than most countries. It is important to be aware of the current geopolitical issues, this allows building trust with overseas partners. <h3>Do I Need Shipping Insurance? </h3>If a person wishes to ship a high-value item, they’re bound to assess the likelihood that the item may get lost, damaged or stolen. Therefore, it is important to get shipping insurance to have peace of mind when shipping goods internationally. There are numerous websites where one can generate shipping insurance. <h3>Start Shipping</h3>For a streamlined shipping experience, it is recommended if the entire process is automated. This will help in avoiding all intricacies involved in doing the work manually. Automation is taking over every industry, including shipping and logistics. Innovative companies like Cogoport have offered the consumers a platform to search for freight rates instantly and get transparency in tracking. Business owners should have a shipping tool which allows them to import all the individual’s orders from different sales channel onto one platform, automatically send tracking numbers, generate Bill of Lading, make sure the process is smooth, and schedule the pickups online.<img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog-Banner-Portal-3.png" alt="" width="300px"><h3>Duties and Taxes</h3>A shipper is bound to pay various duties and taxes when shipping internationally. Following are the two ways to pay for duties-<ul><li>Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU) - Duty is not included in the shipment cost and must be paid when the consignment arrives at the destination port.</li><li>Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) - Duty is included in the shipping cost and has already been paid before the consignment arrives at the destination port. </li></ul>Shipping cargo internationally demands a high level of documentation and declaration. However, there are numerous websites which make the task of documentation easier by doing 95% of the work.

Planning Your Next International Shipment

There are certain things that should be considered when you decide to export agricultural products to Europe. The import of agricultural products to Europe is quite limited due to the temperature and climatic conditions there, which is not favourable to agricultural products. Few of the major imported agriculture products to Europe are Cocoa, tea, spices, soya-bean products, cotton, off-season fruits, vegetables, and coffee. Thus, the European Union gives huge credit to the farming sectors that are involved in agricultural trade with Europe from all over the world.
<a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/message/N4CI7UNDFE2ZM1?autoload=1&amp;app_absent=0&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 3.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a>
Considering the financial strength and deficit of arable land in Europe, agricultural trade with Europe is a golden opportunity for many developing countries. In the data published by Eurostat in 2017, the total value of agriculture products imports and exports between the world and Europe was 275 billion euros. 

However, there are few things to speculate while exporting agricultural products to Europe, mentioned below.

1. Common Agricultural Products Exported to Europe:&nbsp; European agricultural production includes products such as vegetables, grains, fruits, and sugar. A major part of the agricultural products is exported to Europe, which includes dairy products, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and olive. In the data published by Eurostat in 2017, the total value of agriculture products imports and exports between the world and Europe was 275 billion euros.

2. Quality:

The first thing that you should keep in mind is the quality of agriculture products due to the consciousness of the people regarding their healthy eating habits. In 2017, the Vegetables were a major part of agriculture imports to Europe, which was around 48 percent. Foodstuffs and animal agricultural imports were 32 percent and 20 percent respectively. EU food law requires that the competent authority of the exporting country offers guarantees as to the compliance or equivalence with EU requirements for the food of animal origin. The authorities are present to make sure that the third countries should maintain the operational criteria put forward by the European Union, especially Regulation number 882/2004.<a href="https://cogoport.com/signup/en-IN/?utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog-Banner-Portal-2.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a>3. Importance of Logo:&nbsp; You should keep in mind that the organic agricultural products you want to export to Europe should be produced along with a certified logo. It can be made clear from the fact that people of Europe buy 95 percent of the organic products that have an organic farming logo.

4. Demand in different regions&nbsp;:The places where the consumption of vegetables and agricultural products is more should be targeted, when exporting to Europe. According to FAO data, the vegetable supply is quite high in Southern Europe as compared to Northern Europe. In Northern Europe, the average supply is 195 g per person per day, which is 71 kg per person per year. However, in southern Europe, there is an average supply of 756 g per person per day. The place is to be researched before beginning with the exporting process as the WHO estimates that in more than half of the countries of the European Region, the consumption of fruit and vegetables is lower than 400 grams per day, and in one-third of the countries of the European region, the consumption is less than 300 grams per day.

5. Rules and Regulations:&nbsp;The European health certification and Accreditation Requirements are critical to the success of your export business. Regulation (EC) 178/2002 (General Food Law) is the regulation which sets out the general principles and requirements of European Union food law Health certifications are necessary for the import of agriculture products. Additionally, the quality certificates are also as necessary for marketing the products under a specific label. The establishment of EU rules and standards in the food and the agriculture sector has been happening in Europe for a long period of time. However, in January 2002, changed the scenario and the publication of a general food law took place in which general principles of EU food and agriculture law were established.
6. Importance of Research:

Before exporting, thorough research is necessary about the customer preferences in regards to agriculture products. The most exported items include foodstuff, beverages, and spirits together estimating around 39 % of the products, which has a value of around 31 billion euros. Products registered under chapter 23 estimate around 23 % of foodstuff imports, which has a value of 10 billion euros.
7. Competition in the Market:&nbsp;The competitiveness of the target market is a vital factor to be considered when you think about exporting your product. More than 500 million consumers and 21 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can provide opportunities to grow and establish you in the competitive market. 16% of the world’s imports and exports are shared by the members of the European Union.<img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 1.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;">8. Study of Models related to the export of agriculture products:

The model proposed by the International Plant Protection Convention should be studied thoroughly and followed while exporting the agricultural products to Europe. European Union has only one model certificate for exports and one model certificate for re-exports of plant products in accordance with international regulations laid out by the IPPC.
9. Packaging Policies:

The packaging and production laws proposed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) should also be kept into consideration, otherwise, the EU health certificate will not be granted to the product, and it might get banned from the European market. The method to obtain an EU Health Certificate requires the manufacturers to provide their final production and packing facility registered on the FDA Dairy Plant Reference List of EU approved facilities. There are certain certificates such as dairy EU storage, EU raw milk product health, and dairy EU transit.10. MRLs:

The European Union has established maximum residue levels (MRLs) in order to prevent the risk possessed by pesticides on food products. In case any product contains more pesticides than the mentioned number, then that product will be banned from the European market. It should be kept in mind that European buyers are strict in this aspect and they need information about the pesticides so that health standards can be maintained. 33 to 70 per cent of the supermarket chains ask for legal MRLs from the exporters.

<h3>What Does This Mean?
</h3>
While Exporting Agricultural Products to Europe, it becomes vital to look at the different rules and regulations set up by the European Union regarding agricultural products consumed in Europe. The market analysis and market trends of Europe should also be kept in mind along with the demand and taste of the European people.

Exporting Agri Products to Europe: 10 Key Points

Developing a great website is the first step of creating an amazing online presence. Once the website is up and running it needs traffic, and the only way to achieve it is to have a top-notch Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in place. SEO is a perfect blend of art and technology to boost the organic traffic of the website so that it is visible on the Search Engine Result Page (SERP). A company’s website is the only visual representation of the company, which helps in gaining traction from consumers who are in need of its services- the only way to achieve this is to increase traffic by deploying various methods to make sure that the website is user-friendly while maintaining good response time.<a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/message/N4CI7UNDFE2ZM1?autoload=1&amp;app_absent=0&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 1.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a>We, at Cogoport, know the importance of having a good SEO score, and use a plethora of methods to make sure, a user who searches for certain keywords, lands on our website. How are we able to achieve the perfect blend of website traffic and user-experience? We have incorporated industry-leading strategies to make www.cogoport.com a best-in-class marketplace for freight.<h3>Proper HTML Structure</h3>Every web developer dreads a website which lacks basic HTML structure and has innumerable errors. An improper structure opens countless pathways for page load errors and broken links. Also, Google’s crawlers pay no heed to a website which lacks structure. Therefore, the entire Cogoport website is written using semantic markup, meaning all the pages have a proper ‘header’, ‘main’, ‘nav’, ‘article’, ‘section’, ‘aside’, ‘address’ and ‘footer’. This has enabled us to score a high page rank score.<a href="https://cogoport.com/signup/en-IN/?utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog-Banner-Portal-3.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a><h3>Crisp Content</h3>Without a crisp and tailored content, any website is a mere template, and in no way serves the purpose of a platform that a user understands. Our team has created an ironclad SEO-friendly content guideline, which enables us to ease the process for our customers through our high-quality content. A user, who lands on our website easily finds the desired service- this improves our bounce rate and results in a 100% conversion. A high-quality SEO-friendly website contains quality keywords, optimized article length, and a good Page Load Speed.<h3>Meta Tags</h3>Meta Tags are snippets of the text available on the website, they don’t appear on the page itself, but are displayed when the webpage is shown on the search engine page. They provide information to the user about the website’s description. <h3>Canonical Tags</h3>A canonical tag specifies the source URL of a page to a search engine (such as Google). The idea is to declare a single page as its own source or for duplicate pages to reference their source or originating page in order to attain proper indexing. Suppose a single company owns multiple domains, all of them having the same content, Google’s crawlers may mark it as plagiarised- to avoid this we add a canonical tag in the code, letting Google’s crawlers know that all domains belong to a single website.<a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/message/N4CI7UNDFE2ZM1?autoload=1&amp;app_absent=0&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 2.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a><h3>Server-side Rendering</h3>Cogoport developers have successfully implemented Server-Side Rendering (SSR) on the website. SSR is a popular technique for rendering a client-side only Single Page App (SPA) on the server and sending a fully rendered page to the client. SSR helps in performing well on devices which have minimum processing power, as the server sends a fully loaded app to the device. SSR allows faster page load speed for our website, which is essential for improving user experience.

Cogoport and SEO - A Perfect Blend

*Hike in customs duties would prevent the Chinese dumping of goods in India which we have been witnessing for a long time, especially post the USA sanctions on China. The Chinese companies have excess capacities for production and as a result, they are dumping goods in India at very cheap prices. The hike in customs and tariffs would prevent dumping of Chinese goods and will protect the local producers.*

The budget 2020 of India, is considered to be one of the most important in the last few years in the backdrop of slowing growth. <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/message/N4CI7UNDFE2ZM1?autoload=1&amp;app_absent=0&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=general" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog Banner WA 3.png" width="auto" style="width: auto; height: auto;"></a>The government has to now make sure that the budget has policies which ensure inclusive development as well as the growth of the entire economy. The economy is currently facing a demand slowdown and hence the government needs to make sure that consumer sentiment sees a pick up in the coming quarters. First, it could bring into place policies that would promote exports like an export subsidy. This would increase the domestic production which would further propel the growth of incomes in the economy. Secondly, it could reduce imports by taxing them.Additionally, the global growth seems to be reviving which could thus propel our net exports if the right policies are in place. Hence, at this point in time, the import-export sector is one of the most important sectors in terms of the revival of growth. **The Budget for the Import-Export Sector:**

There have been various policy measures taken by the government in order to give a boost to this sector. They are as follows:

## 1. Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana (NIRVIK) will be provided for the upliftment of small exporters


The government, in the budget, proposed the NIRVIK, scheme, also called Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS). Under this scheme, the insurance cover that will be provided to small exporters would be enhanced while on the other hand, the premium for the insurance would be reduced. This, according to the industry experts, is an appropriate and timely step taken by the government. The government is also working towards a simplified procedure for claim settlement.

This step was taken to achieve higher export credit disbursement. Earlier, under ECIS, the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) provides a credit guarantee of up to 60% of the principal and interest amount. However, now under NIRVIK, the insurance cover guaranteed would cover up to 90% of the principal and interest. This includes both pre and post-shipment credit. This is a crucial and a necessary step taken by the government especially due to the timing. This is because at the current time of demand slowdown and uncertainty existing in the markets, there exists a tendency for a rise in payment defaults.<img src="https://cdn.cogoport.io/cms-prod/cogo_public/vault/original/Blog-Banner-Portal-3.png" alt="" width="300px">
Additionally, NIRVIK is expected to increase the affordability and accessibility of credit insurance to smaller exporters while also reducing the liquidity requirements. This is one way to promote the exporters to export more, thereby boosting net exports and consequently domestic production.

## 2. Scheme for exporters will be launched to reimburse state levies to empower falling exports

The Finance Minister (FM) in her budget speech mentioned that a scheme will be launched this year by the government for the exporters wherein the taxes and duties paid by them would be reimbursed. The primary aim of this scheme is to boost falling exports. It has been proposed by the government that the remission of the various taxes and duties levied at the state and the centre would take place digitally. The taxes that are covered under this scheme include value-added tax (VAT), electricity duties and the fuel used for transportation. These have been brought under this scheme as these are not getting refunded or exempted under any other existing mechanism. This is a very important move as a similar scheme earlier proposed i.e. the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) was not in compliance with the global trade rules. However, this is in perfect compliance with WTO rules as according to these rules certain state taxes on power, oil, education cess and water are allowed to be refunded.

This move would also encourage the exporters to export more as remission of such taxes essentially implies a reduction in the cost of operations. As a result, the margins of the businesses would go up leading to greater profitability for businesses. Improved profitability would, therefore, enable the companies to reinvest a greater proportion of their revenues thus leading to the growth of the export sector of the country.

## 3. Government targets to aim to increase Fishery exports to Rs. 1 lakh crore by 2024-25:

The government has targeted to increase the fishery exports of the country to at least Rs. 1 lakh crore by the year 2024-25. Additionally, the government has also proposed to increase the production of fishes to 200 lakh tonnes by the year 2022-2023. According to the speech given by the FM, there will also be the promotion of algae growth, see weed and cage culture. The government plans to involve the youth in this industry via 3477 Sagar Mitras and 500 Fish Farmer Producer Organisations. Involving the youth in the fisheries business would, on one hand, increase the fisheries exports while also it would also provide jobs to the youth. ## 4. There has been a hike in Custom Duties for luxury and food products:

One of the key policies in this year’s budget was the hike in custom and import duties on the import goods. The consumers would now pay much more for the imported food and groceries, kitchenware, ceiling fans, shoes and many other products. For some of the products, the customs duties have been hiked to as much as 100%. The main argument behind this move is to promote the “Make in India” initiative and to give a boost to the local producers and the local industries.

As a result of this hike, the prices of the majority of the imported goods from smartphones to electric vehicles would go up, leaving a hole in the pockets of the consumer. However, due to increased prices of imported goods, import substitution would take place. This means that the domestic consumers would now substitute the locally produced goods for imported goods. This would thus, enhance the aggregate demand faced by the local producers, thereby increasing domestic production. This would further help the economy revive the growth that has been missing for the past few quarters now.

Another very crucial point to be noted is that these hike in customs duties would prevent the Chinese dumping of goods that India has been witnessing for a long time, especially post the USA sanctions on China. The Chinese companies have excess capacities and as a result they are dumping goods in India at very cheap prices. This is hurting the local Indian producers. The hike in customs and tariffs would prevent Chinese dumping and will protect the local producers. As a result, growth in domestic production can be expected.

## 5. Announcement by the Finance Minister for the development of Export Hubs:

In the budget speech, the FM also announced that various institutional measures were being taken in order to develop each district as an export hub. The government has proposed an allocation of Rs. 27300 crores for the industry and commerce in 2020-21.
 
## 6. New chapter introduced in the Customs Act to tighten origin norms for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) benefits:

The government has inserted a new chapter in the Customs Act regarding the administration of rules of origin under trade agreements. The inclusion of this chapter now implies that the government would now have the power to suspend and refuse any kind of preferential treatment of tariff in case of incomplete information or verification or non-compliance. Hence, now the importers that plan to claim any preferential treatment with regards to tariffs under any trade agreement would have to declare that “the goods qualify as originating goods and must possess sufficient information about their origin criteria and regional value content”. This is a move to curb the growing imports by tightening the origin norms. This would help in boosting net exports, enhancing local incomes of producers.

## 7. Other Schemes which are empowering the exports to be continued:

Apart from these schemes and programmes, the government has also shown an intention to continue with the existing popular export schemes that no longer comply with the global trade norms. These include schemes like the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG). Other schemes like the MEIS are subjected to be discontinued henceforth. The government has decided to continue with these schemes for a little while longer. There was another scheme, which was to be implemented from January 1, 2019 which focused on reimbursing some import duties to the exporters. The government had announced in this budget that this scheme would be implemented at some time this year.

## Final Words

Evidently, the government has taken some major steps to ease the export and import business while also making an attempt to boost the net exports by promoting exports and curbing imports. However, it is yet to be seen how the various stakeholders i.e. consumers and producers react to these policies. For example, if the demand elasticity of the goods with higher customs is very low, then rising prices would not lead to a fall in demand. This would thus not only generate inflation within the economy, but also fail to revive the businesses of the local producers. Hence, despite there being significant steps taken by the government towards boosting net exports and growth, proper execution needs to be there in place for the benefits to reach to the targeted population.

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