DHL temporarily suspends Chinese import shipments to India

By Maria Ponnezhath

(Reuters) - German logistics company DHL said on Wednesday it had temporarily suspended picking up import shipments from China to India, after border tensions between the countries led to clearance delays.

Another prominent freight transporter FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) said it was facing backlogs beyond its control, leading to congestion at facilities.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and will resume our normal operations as the circumstances allow," a FedEx spokeswoman told Reuters.

There have been growing calls from India for a boycott of Chinese products, after a border clash between the neighbors last month killed 20 Indian soldiers.

Customs officials at the key port of Chennai, which handles various cargo including automobiles, fertilisers and petroleum products, have held shipments originating from China for extra checks.

A DHL representative confirmed to Reuters that the recent delay in customs clearance of cargo into India caused the shipment company's DHL Express India unit to temporarily suspend pick ups from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. DHL did not elaborate on the nature of consignments that were delayed.

Reuters reported last week that goods, including products from U.S. companies Apple, Cisco and Dell were caught up in the border tensions, as Indian ports held up imports from China.

Pharmaceutical consignments are also stuck at Chennai and other ports and at an airport, and drug companies have been told their shipments will be released after rigorous scrutiny of each container, down to every drum, a senior industry executive told Reuters last month.

United Parcel Service and Amazon India did not respond to requests for comment regarding possible shipment delays.

(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Bernard Orr and Rashmi Aich)

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