The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, held a stakeholder consultation with all stakeholder ministries, key logistics and trade facilitation partners to review the emerging geo-political situation and its potential impact on India’s export-import (EXIM) cargo flows, including the export ecosystem.

The meeting was chaired by Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Shri Suchindra Misra and Shri Lav Agarwal, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

The meeting was attended by representatives from logistics operators and shipping lines/forwarders, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Reserve Bank of India, export promotion ecosystem and other concerned agencies.

Stakeholders presented an assessment of the evolving operational environment, including routing and transit-time changes, vessel scheduling adjustments, container/equipment availability, freight and insurance cost trends, and implications for time-sensitive exports.

The discussions covered the need to maintain predictability in cargo movement, minimise avoidable delays, and ensure seamless documentation and payment processes for exporters and importers.

The Department reiterated the Government of India’s priority of ensuring continuity of EXIM logistics and mitigating any disruptions to India’s trade flows. It was emphasised that the approach will remain facilitative and coordinated.

a focus on maintaining supply chain resilience, protecting the interests of exporters—particularly MSMEs—with a view that essential imports required for domestic production and consumption are not adversely affected.