The Commerce Ministry on Thursday convened a series of high-level meetings with exporters and key stakeholders to address mounting challenges in packaging, shipping, and port operations arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis.
The meetings were chaired by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and attended by Shipping Secretary Vijay Kumar, along with representatives from shipping lines, ports, Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), and commodity boards.
Discussions focused on operational disruptions in maritime trade following the recent joint military actions by the United States and Israel on Iran, which have significantly impacted vessel movement across international waters, particularly in West Asia routes.
Export Promotion Councils were asked to provide detailed inputs on port-level issues to enable targeted interventions. Stakeholders highlighted delays, logistical bottlenecks, and rising costs affecting export operations.
A separate meeting was held to deliberate on packaging-related challenges. Industry representatives flagged a sharp increase in raw material costs, driven by surging petrochemical prices, which has led to nearly a 50% spike in packaging material costs over recent weeks.
Key issues discussed included ensuring continuity in food exports amid global supply uncertainties, addressing shortages of packaging materials across sectors, and mitigating trade disruptions linked to the Middle East situation.
Exporters urged the government to ensure that waivers announced by ports and other stakeholders are passed on transparently and directly, rather than through delayed reimbursement mechanisms. They also called for an expansion of the ₹497-crore RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation to include countries such as Egypt, where shipping lines have imposed war risk surcharges.
Additionally, industry participants recommended the development of bunker fuel facilities at Paradip Port and Visakhapatnam Port to support shipping operations. They also sought simplification of procedures for reimporting containers that are offloaded at foreign ports, citing cumbersome customs processes.
The government had recently launched the RELIEF scheme to help exporters navigate disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict. Further consultations are expected as authorities work to stabilise trade flows and reduce operational pressures on exporters.
