Fruit importers allege delay

Business houses importing fruits through the Kochi port have alleged delay in clearance of consignments by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, forcing them to route cargo via Kochi’s neighbouring ports.

In a complaint to the Kochi port authority, an importer said fruit consignments reaching the Kochi port took seven to nine days to get No-Objection Certificates whereas at other ports NOCs were issued in three days.