A close-up of basmati rice grains stacked for sale inside a shop at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Sahiba Chawdhary
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SAHIBA CHAWDHARY
Rice exporters have urged Indian government’s agri export promotion body APEDA to urgently take up some of the issues including freight and insurance rates as well as logistics with top officials of the Commerce and other related ministries to mitigate the impact of disruptions triggered by the Iran war.
In a letter to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Chairman Abhishek Dev, the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) Director-General Vinod Kumar Kaul said exporters are facing an acute shortage of containers, suspension or cancellation of vessel calls to the West Asian region, and sharp increase in the logistics costs.
Pointing out that domestic basmati rice prices are down 7–10 per cent since the start of the crisis, adding pressure on exporters’ working capital and contracted realisations, Kaul said that the cargo space availability is a major issue and fuel/risk charges are highly uncertain. Basmati exporters fear that fuel/risk charges may escalate further in the coming days.
Freight charges up 20%
International freight rates have risen by an estimated 15-20 per cent, while war-risk surcharges and insurance premiums for Gulf-bound shipments have increased significantly. Bunker fuel price / marine fuel oil (MFO) rates have increased from $520/tonne to $700, an increase of 35 per cent in less than a week, IREF said in a statement.
“Our exporters cannot absorb abrupt freight, fuel and insurance shocks while shipments are delayed or rolled,” said Dev Garg, vice-president of IREF. Time-bound relief and clear advisories are essential to protect contracts, cash flows and India’s export commitments, he said.
Among the key measures sought by IREF include waiver of port-related charges, including storage and demurrage, in cases where cargo is rolled due to vessel cancellations or steep freight increases beyond exporters’ control.
Force majeure-type
Kaul has requested necessary actions after consulting Customs authorities and the Reserve Bank of India to ease operational, documentation and payment-related issues, including amendments in shipping documents, destination changes, and settlement procedures. He has suggested an official advisory be issued by APEDA, recognising the disruption as a force majeure–type event, so that it would help prevent contractual penalties.
“Considering delays in cargo movement and buyer payments, we request necessary advisories to banks be issued to provide temporary working capital support/ad-hoc facilities and suitable time-bound relaxations to ease shortages arising from the current disruption, similar to support extended during the COVID period,” Kaul said in the representation.
Published on March 5, 2026
