Nagpur: Disruptions in shipping routes due to the West Asia conflict has affected exports of agricultural commodities, pulses and steel products from Vidarbha and led to surge in prices of imported fruits in local markets.Vidarbha exports large volumes of rice, pulses and spices every month to several Gulf countries and Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. From Nagpur alone, about 25 to 30 containers of pulses and nearly 100 containers of rice are exported each month. The ongoing hostilities, however, have forced exporters to suspend shipments. According to Manohar Bhojwani, director of Nagpur Dal Mill Cluster, said, “Consignments of many exporters are stranded at the Port of Dubai, and fresh export orders have stopped.”Logistics expert and former president of the Vidarbha Economic Development Council, Shivkumar Rao, said, “With shipping routes through the Middle East, East Africa and the Red Sea corridor effectively closed, around 700 to 800 containers leaving from Nagpur every month are stuck. Some shipments remain stranded mid-sea, causing exporters losses worth crores,” Rao said.With supplies from Iran severely disrupted, prices of kiwi have soared. A 10 kg crate of kiwi that earlier sold for about Rs1,400 is now priced between Rs3,000 and Rs4,000. Imported apples from Italy have also became costlier, with the price of an 8kg box rising from Rs3,300 to around Rs4,000. Wholesalers say the surge in imported fruit prices also pushed up the cost of Indian apples in local markets.Alok Pahune, president of Laghu Udyog Bharati, said there is disruption in the supply of commercial LPG cylinders used by engineering, steel, fabrication and food-processing units. “If normalcy does not return in the next 6-7 days, small industries across Vidarbha could face a serious crisis,” Pahune said.
