Adani Ports Not To Handle Cargo From Afghanistan, Iran, Pak
The decision has come in the backdrop of the seizure of a drug consignment at Gujarat's Mudra port operated by the company
Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd released an advisory on Monday announcing that “with effect from November 15, 2021, APSEZ will not handle EXIM (export-import of) containerized cargo originating from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.”
The trade advisory will also apply to third-party terminals at any APSEZ port till further notice, the company added.
The Drug Haul:
The move has come in the backdrop of the seizure of nearly 3000 kgs of heroin at one of the company's ports in Gujarat.
On 17 September, based on intelligence inputs the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had seized 2990 kg heroin from the Mundra port, operated by APSEZ, in the Kutch district of Gujarat. The containers loaded with drugs, but declared to be having semi- processed talc stones, were picked from Iran’s Bandar Abbas port.
The seizure worth more than 20000 crores in the international market, as estimated by the DRI, made it one of the largest drug haul in the world.
Some arrests were also done by the DRI before the case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency seeing the Afghanistan link it had.
Afghanistan is known for growing and supplying opium. Heroin is a more refined and addictive form of opium. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Exporters Concerned:
Adani Ports is India's largest integrated ports and logistics company having 24% of the country's port capacity.
After the announcement, Indian exporters are concerned about their consignments that were to be sent to Iran.
Iran is the country among the three (Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran) to which India has its largest exports. The new announcement may act as a blow to India's export numbers.
“As of now, the products which are set to be hit are mostly agri-goods, chemicals, and other products such as machinery, once Mundra closes down to Iran-bound trade. Pharma and medical equipment may also be hit, but they can always use the air route. However, we are sure that inland trade costs for exports to Iran will go up," Ajay Sahai, Director General, and CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organisation said.
On the other hand, incoming goods from Iran wouldn't be hurt so much since only a few products, such as limestone and gypsum, come from there, apart from petroleum, he added.
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