- MSC introduces the Carioca service, enhancing connectivity between Asia and South America with a weekly route.
- The service will directly call at Brazilian ports including Rio de Janeiro, Paranagua, Imbituba, Itajai, and Santos, and offer extended coverage to Paraguay, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires.
- Indian exports to Latin America surged by 19% in fiscal year 2022-23, reaching $22.4 billion.
- Other carriers, like HMM, are also increasing their focus on India-Latin America trade routes.
- Indian merchandise exports experienced a slight decrease in July due to logistical issues and rising international freight costs, but the overall outlook remains optimistic.
Amid shifting trade patterns in Asia, India’s growing manufacturing sector is attracting container lines seeking new growth opportunities. MSC is launching a weekly Asia-South America East Coast service, named the Carioca service, which will connect Indian cargo via Colombo, Sri Lanka. This service will include direct calls to several key Brazilian ports and provide additional coverage to Paraguay, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires. The move responds to rising Indian exports to Latin America, which increased 19% year-on-year in fiscal year 2022-23. Despite a minor dip in Indian merchandise exports in July due to logistical challenges, the long-term export outlook remains positive, reports The Loadstar.
Growth opportunities
Amid the trade diversion in Asia, India’s manufacturing push is attracting container lines searching for growth opportunities beyond their traditional markets. MSC is to add a weekly Asia-South America East Coast service for Indian cargo via Colombo in Sri Lanka.
The Carioca service port rotation also includes direct calls at Rio de Janeiro, Paranagua, Imbituba, Itajai, and Santos, while the carrier also promises additional coverage for Paraguay (Caacupemi), Montevideo, and Buenos Aires, through relays at Rio.
MSC Agencies (India) told customers: “It will provide additional coverage as well as increasing connectivity and frequency for cargo originating from India.”
The first Carioca sailing will be by the MSC Nairobi, which has an ETA in Colombo of 10 September.
The move comes as Indian exports to Latin America are gaining measurable traction, with global importers increasingly looking beyond China for procurement. Commodities moving in large volumes from India to the region include automobile and polyethylene (PE) products, according to industry sources.
According to available data, the value of Indian exports to Latin America and the Caribbean jumped 19% year on year in fiscal year 2022-23, to some $22.4 billion.
Meanwhile, other carriers have also shown greater interest in India-Latin America trades: HMM has extended its Asia-Lat Am service known as FIL to India, with a call at Kattupalli port, near Chennai. The carrier has adopted a strategy to aggregate cargo out of western India by using its China-India (CIX) string that has stops at Nhava Sheva and Mundra.
After a three-month streak of gains in the new fiscal year that began in April, Indian merchandise exports reported a marginal 1% dip in July, by value, according to new data. But Ashwani Kumar, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, believes that while there are headwinds due to geopolitical reasons, the long-term outlook for the export trade remains positive.
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Source: The Loadstar
