800 tonne of agri exports stranded at Mumbai port

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The escalating Israel-US-Iran conflict has crippled agricultural exports from the Marathwada region. Iran's Bandar Abbas port — along with other vital gateways — has been shut down for trade, stranding nearly 800 tonnes of produce at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and halting new shipments statewide.Exporters report that consignments of chickpea, tur (pigeon pea), soybean meal, Bengal gram, maize, and onion seeds — bound for Uzbekistan and other Gulf nations — are stuck in limbo. The Bandar Abbas route, essential for Central and West Asian markets, is now inaccessible, forcing traders to offload trucks amid severe space shortages at the port.Shrirang Kalya, director of Maheshwari Agro in Latur, said exports from Marathwada typically include chickpea, tur, soybean meal and limited quantities of maize. "At present, around 800 tonnes of cargo is stranded at the port. Transportation has come to a complete halt. There is no space available at the Mumbai port to send fresh consignments. The goods are piled up in one place. Fortunately, the shipments did not yet sail, but we have no clarity on when the market will reopen," he said.Traders also fear that once the operations resume, freight rates are likely to surge. "If fuel prices rise amid the conflict, logistics costs will go up further, eroding margins. The trade may become unviable," Kalya added.Industry representatives said closure of multiple ports has effectively cut off a crucial trade corridor used by exporters across Maharashtra."Indian pomegranate and grapes are in great demand in Dubai and other Gulf countries. Our produce is likely to set record losses if the export of these fruits is not resumed at the earliest. The farmers are set to face unprecedented loss. In addition, crude oil prices are feared to surge, due to which the cost of transportation will take a toll on the supply chains," Suyog Kulkarni, state secretary for the pomegranate association of Maharashtra, said.Exporters noted that ports in the UAE are often used as an intermediate transit point, especially after tariff measures imposed by the US altered direct trade routes.