Basmati Rice Exporters Urge Govt Action On Shipping Charges Amid West Asia Crisis

Basmati Rice Farmers & Exporters Development Forum (BRFEDF) on Monday called on the government to take urgent action against what it described as arbitrary and opaque shipping charges that have made exports commercially unviable for many traders.

The forum said war-risk surcharges have ranged from $800 to $6,000 per container, often imposed without prior notice or revised after cargo has already moved. In some cases, cumulative charges have reached 60 to 70% of the cargo value. "Exporters are effectively being asked to absorb open-ended financial liability for circumstances entirely beyond their control," Forum Chairperson Priyanka Mittal said in a statement.

The West Asia crisis has prompted shipping lines to unilaterally divert cargo to ports including Jebel Ali, Sohar and Salalah, hold containers at transshipment hubs with no clarity on onward movement, and in some cases return containers to origin ports.

Exporters say they bear the full financial cost of these decisions despite having no say in them.

BRFEDF demanded that the ministry link charges strictly to services rendered, require shipping lines to release containers without tying returns to disputed fees, and establish clear regulatory guidelines for cargo handling during geopolitical disruptions.

The forum acknowledged that India's Directorate General of Shipping had formally logged exporter grievances and assigned tracking numbers for submission to an inter-ministerial group, but said conditions on the ground remained "extremely challenging." Smaller exporters have been hit hardest, with the forum citing a sharp imbalance in bargaining power between large global carriers and individual traders, leaving many with little recourse. Some said the accumulating charges had forced them to consider abandoning cargo altogether.

"If left unaddressed, such practices risk setting a precedent that could undermine confidence in India's maritime trade framework," Mittal said.