India asks China to restore cargo flights

Beijing, May 13: India has asked China to help stop the sharp increase in prices of essential medical supplies being procured from Chinese manufacturers by private Indian traders to deal with the Covid-19 surge in the country and restore the normal frequency of cargo flight services to maintain a steady supply chain.

Soaring prices of medical supplies like oxygen concentrators and disruption of cargo flights to India are slowing arrivals of medical goods, India’s Consul General to Hong Kong Priyanka Chauhan said. “What I would like to say is that our expectation at this point is that the supply chain should remain open and product prices should remain stable,” Chauhan said in an interview with the “Even if there is a little bit of supply-demand pressure, there has to be some stability and predictability to product prices,” she told the Hong Kong-based newspaper. “And there has to be a sense of governmental level support and efforts. I don’t have the information as to how much influence the Chinese government can have in this matter but if they can, then it would be welcome,” she said.

Her comments came in the backdrop of efforts by private Indian traders to source much-needed medical supplies, especially oxygen concentrators to meet the shortages in hospitals. The cargo flight disruptions were amplified by the decision by Sichuan Airlines to suspend all its 11 cargo flights for 15 days from April 26, citing the Covid situation in India.