Govt monitoring West Asia crisis, vows support to keep exports moving

The government said it is closely monitoring the West Asia crisis and will take necessary measures to support exporters. An inter-ministerial group continues assessing trade and energy supply chain disruptions, while exporters increasingly use Oman's ports to maintain regional shipments

New Delhi: The government is monitoring developments in the West Asia region and will do whatever is necessary on the ground to help domestic exporters continue trade as far as possible, an official said on Tuesday.

An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) set up to monitor the West Asia crisis and its impact on trade and energy supply chains is still functional, the official said.

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“We will keep meeting stakeholders to keep capturing what is happening, how it is impacting our trade. And whatever needs to be done on the ground to help our exporters carry on the trade as far as possible, we will do that,” the official added.

The US-Iran war has severely disrupted the movement of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point in international waters. India’s exports to the West Asian region have recorded a 7.29 per cent year-on-year growth to USD 5 billion.

The shipments to the region had declined in March due to the US-Iran conflict, but improved in April and further in May. The country’s exports to the UAE rose 3.57 per cent to USD 2.7 billion, but shipments to Saudi Arabia declined by 4.42 per cent to USD 768.56 million.

On the other hand, imports from the UAE and Oman have registered a positive growth. But it dipped by 29.75 per cent from Saudi Arabia. Indian exporters are using three ports (Duqm, Sohar and Salalah) in Oman to push exports to the region. India normally exports goods worth about USD 6 billion every month to the region.