NAMAKKAL: A sharp increase in freight charges due to the ongoing West Asia conflict has significantly impacted Namakkal’s poultry exports, with shipments dropping to a small fraction of their usual levels.
Industry sources said the disruption in shipping routes, reduced vessel availability and rising war risk costs have slowed exports sharply over the past few weeks, forcing exporters to scale down shipments and reconsider trade strategies.
Valsan Parameswaran, secretary of the All India Poultry Product Exporters Association, said exports have declined steeply, with barely three containers moving per day now, compared to around 20 containers per day earlier. “This itself shows the extent of the slowdown in the poultry export sector,” he said, adding that the fall in volumes has directly affected overall business for exporters.
He explained that a consignment shipped towards the end of February, when tensions escalated, remained stranded at sea for several days, creating serious concerns among exporters about the safety of shipments. After continuous efforts by the association and the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), along with discussions with international shipping lines, the containers finally reached their destination markets last week. “That brought some relief, but exports are still happening only in very limited numbers,” he said.
Freight charges have increased sharply from about $1,800 to nearly $9,500, with shipping companies citing ‘war risk charges’ due to the uncertainty involved in operating in the current conditions.
At the same time, the availability of ships has reduced, and many shipping lines are hesitant to operate regularly because of the risks involved. “There is a constant fear that shipments could get stranded again, and this uncertainty is the biggest concern for both exporters and shipping companies,” he added.
Due to the higher freight costs, buyers are also becoming reluctant to continue trade with India and are increasingly looking at closer countries such as Turkiye, where shipments are easier, quicker and more cost-effective. Currently, only limited exports are continuing to select destinations such as Oman. He said that unless the situation stabilises, exporters may have to temporarily depend more on domestic markets.
APEDA is currently holding discussions with shipping lines, port authorities, embassies and other stakeholders, and has also appealed for a reduction in freight charges to support the industry.
K Sundarrajan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association, said that while the slowdown in exports has affected the sector, farmers have not yet faced the full impact because production has reduced during the summer season. “In Namakkal, production has come down by about 15%, which means nearly one crore eggs less per day. This reduction has helped in maintaining prices to some extent”, he said.
He also pointed out that the ongoing fishing ban is likely to increase egg consumption, which could support demand in the domestic market.
“Egg prices had dropped sharply to around Rs 3.85 by the end of March due to the export slowdown, but have now improved and are being maintained at about Rs 5.10 for over 10 days. However, we cannot expect prices to remain stable for long if the situation continues without improvement,” he said.
VS Balasubramaniam, assistant general manager of the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), Namakkal zone, said exports are currently at only about one-fifth of normal levels, and this has made the price situation uncertain going forward. While prices are holding steady at present, he cautioned that if the conflict does not ease and exports do not resume properly after mid-June, the poultry industry could face a major setback, with both exporters and farmers likely to feel the impact more strongly.