West Asia Tensions Disrupt Indian Banana Exports, Growers Face Losses

The ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, particularly the Iran-U.S. conflict, have severely impacted Indian banana exporters. With key export markets like Iran and Iraq becoming inaccessible and shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz disrupted, large consignments of bananas are stranded at overseas ports, leading to significant fruit damage.

According to R. Selvarajan, director of the ICAR–National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), India was a major exporter of Grand Naine bananas to Iran and Iraq, as well as nendran bananas to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Before the conflict, transit times were just one to two weeks. Now, due to political tensions and the closure of shipping lanes, consignments are delayed for 20 to 25 days, causing extensive spoilage.

The NRCB has been training exporters to delay the ripening of harvested bananas to withstand longer transit. Selvarajan noted that protocols exist to keep fruits unripe for 45 to 60 days, but these were not widely adopted because traditional export routes were shorter. He emphasized the importance of pre-cooling bananas at the farm—reducing temperatures from 30-32°C to 13-15°C—rather than at packing houses. These methods have been shared with farmers and companies through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), but implementation has been lacking.

To adapt, NRCB is collaborating with APEDA and private firms to explore new export routes, such as shipping bananas to Russia via the Red Sea. Meanwhile, the war has also hit the market for value-added banana products. V.A. Kalyanasundaram of the Tamil Nadu Banana Producer Company Ltd. reported a drastic decline in demand from Gulf countries since March. Exports of solar-dehydrated bananas and banana flour have been particularly affected. Combined with crop disease and El Niño weather patterns, banana growers in regions like Thottiyam are facing severe difficulties.