Tea and basmati traders halt West Asia exports

Kolkata: Indian tea and basmati rice exporters have decided to halt exports to Iran, Israel and other Middle Eastern countries with the geo-political tension escalating between Iran and Israel. Tensions surged between the two countries as Israel struck near Iranian nuclear facilities in Isfahan as a retaliatory move.

Anticipating further strife in the region, the exporters have decided to hold back shipments to the region. Anish Bhansali, managing partner of Bhansali & Co, a leading exporter to Iran, said "We have stopped shipping teas to Iran. The geopolitical situation does not look to die down soon. The shipping companies will be staying away from the region till the situation improves." "This year we were expecting exports of 40-45 million kg of orthodox tea to the Gulf nation. Initial buying of the new season teas by Iran had raised hope for us," said Mohit Agarwal, director of Asian Tea Company.

Basmati rice is another agri-commodity which Iran imports from India. In FY24, India exported one million kg of basmati rice to Iran, out of its total exports of 4.9 million kg.

Gautam Miglani, managing partner of LRNK, a 50-year-old Haryana-based basmati rice exporting firm, said "We have put our exports on hold and we are not taking future orders also because of the current geopolitical tension."

Iranian port acts as a transit to the Middle East countries and places like Turkey. "Earlier 5-6 ships were coming from the Iranian port. But now the number has halved. The waiting time at the Indian port has increased for the basmati rice exporters. Also, the insurance companies are not eager to extend coverage for exports to Iran. So, there is no point in exporting rice now. The industry is on a wait-and-watch mode."