India Convenes Emergency Logistics Talks as West Asia Crisis Squeezes Packaging Supply Chains

India’s government launched a coordinated emergency response to disruptions from the West Asia conflict, convening two high-level stakeholder meetings that brought together Commerce Ministry officials, port authorities, shipping agencies, Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), and industry representatives.

The first session, chaired by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, focused on the growing shortage and cost surge in packaging materials. Geopolitical developments have disrupted the supply and pricing of critical petrochemical inputs — particularly polymers and resins — driving up packaging costs across multiple sectors. Industry participants flagged acute stress on MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), the backbone of India’s export economy.

A second meeting, co-chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) and the Commerce Secretary, tackled broader logistics and shipping challenges: documentation backlogs, back-to-town and transit cargo delays, air freight cost spikes, railway concession frameworks, and bunker fuel availability. The Chairman of CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) also participated, signalling a whole-of-government approach.

Key sectors flagged as vulnerable include apparel, leather, telecom/optical fibre, and medical devices. Stakeholders pressed for the continued availability of LNG, helium, and petrochemical derivatives, as well as early GST refunds to shore up liquidity.

In response, the Commerce Secretary announced that a structured weekly monitoring mechanism will be instituted to track export-import trends and sectoral stress indicators. Time-bound assessments of key packaging inputs — mapping domestic production capacity and identifying import dependencies — will also be conducted. The government has also launched the Rs 497-crore RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme through ECGC to help exporters navigate West Asia conflict-related disruptions.