The Hindu : Problems in exports to Iraq resolved

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 04, 2003

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Problems in exports to Iraq resolved

By Sushma Ramachandran

NEW DELHI April 3. Indian exports to Iraq under the Oil-For-Food Programme will now be diverted to alternative ports where the United Nations agencies will pick up the goods.

This follows a decision by the U.N. Secretary-General to administer the Oil-For-Food Programme for 45 more days.

With this move, problems faced in supply of about Rs. 1000 crores-worth of exports under the Oil-For-Food Programme have finally been resolved.

Of these orders, as much as Rs. 600 crores-worth of goods have already been dispatched while Rs. 400 crores-worth of products are still being executed or are in the pipeline.

Commerce Ministry officials say that under the newly-extended programme a list of priority contracts and shipments to Iraq had been identified by the U.N. office of the Iraq Programme (OIP).

Around 18 Indian contracts under the Oil-For-Food Programme have now been declared as priority by the OIP.

In addition, following the Ministry's intervention, the Permanent Mission of India at the U.N. has taken up the issue of declaring 11 more contracts as priority.

Under the terms of the extended Oil-For-Food Programme, the U.N. agencies have the discretion to directly contact the suppliers in the priority list to route the shipments in transit to convenient transit points.

These are mainly countries neighbouring Iraq at this stage. Some shipments, for instance, have already been diverted to Jebel Ali from the original destination of Umm Qasr in Iraq.

The Government has been assured that all supplies from the OIP's priority list will be lifted by the U.N. agencies.

More important, as in normal contracts, payment will be made after the certificate of receipt is issued by U.N. inspectors at the designated discharge point.

This is significant since Indian exporters were worried that payments would not be made till these reached the final destination.

Indian companies on the U.N. list have thus been advised to keep valid documentation and the current status of the goods readily available so that they can respond when contracted by the U.N. agencies.

They can also provide details of the shipments to the OIP through India's permanent mission in New York.

The Ministry has also urged industry associations as well as the Permanent Mission at the U.N. to provide details of the remaining contracts that need to be declared as priority under the Oil-For-Food Programme.

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