Iran war posing hurdles in supply chain; industries in Sambhajinagar facing delays in export

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The US-Israeli war on Iran has started leaving its negative impact on the industrial units in Maharashtra due to the disruption of global supply chain, with an industry organisation here stating that the containers supposed to take automobile components to Europe were facing delays.

The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on February 28, with US President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to seize control of their destiny and rise against the Islamic leadership that has ruled their country since 1979.

The Marathwada Exporters' Forum of the Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) says that there are around one thousand small, medium and large units that directly or indirectly export their products from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

But the ongoing US-Iran war has disrupted the supply lines and made the time taken for the goods to the destinations longer, due to which the industry in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is facing difficulties, its office-bearer said.

Several units involved in the manufacturing of automobile parts, medicines, steel and machine components are located at Waluj, Chikalthana, Shendra and other industrial hubs in the district. These products are exported to various countries.

Talking to PTI, Rohit Jaju, head of Marathwada Exporters' Forum, said, "Since the war broke out, the containers carrying the goods of some industrial units from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar have been lying at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPT) (in Navi Mumbai). These containers carrying automobile components were supposed to go to Europe."

The shipping of agricultural produce, such as fruits and crops, that go to the Middle East has been stopped by our producers in the wake of the war, he said.

There is an impact on the automobile parts manufacturing industry here. If the situation persists, the companies may have to take a longer route to export the goods to their destination, which may take an extra time of 20-22 days. As a result the transport cost and the duration to reach will also go up, he said.

"The companies that need our products may not wait for a long time and start looking for a new vendor. Maintaining our customer is also a challenge now. As the import from European countries has also been interrupted, we may have to purchase fruits like apples and kiwis at a higher cost," Jaju said.

"The shipping companies have also stopped their work due to the war. As a result, some of our members have decided to bring the material back to their companies. Later if any surcharge is imposed on the trade, the post war export can also become a costlier matter," he said.