Experts cite logistical, Red Sea crisis as issues impacting India's exports

The Red sea crisis and logistical challenges have severely impacted the country's exports in August, which contracted 9.3 per cent, according to exporters and experts. Think tank GTRI said the contraction of petroleum product exports' by 37.56 per cent to USD 5.95 billion in August is linked to the ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea. These exports were USD 9.54 billion in August 2023. "This dramatic decline has significantly impacted India's overall merchandise trade, leading to a 9.33 per cent reduction in August 2024 compared to the previous year," Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Founder Ajay Srivastava said. Interestingly, he said, crude oil prices remained relatively stable between these two periods, suggesting that the drop in petroleum product exports is "linked to ongoing disruptions" in the Red Sea. The yearlong ongoing disruptions have forced shipping routes to take longer paths around the Horn of Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, rendering exports to Europe less