NEW DELHI: A shortage of refrigerated containers (reefers) caused by the West Asia war is worrying Indian growers of mangoes ahead of the peak export season, according to five people aware of the development.
With the war in its second month, key maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, have been disrupted, leading to container shortages and higher freight costs. Many containers are stuck in transit due to congestion or are being re-routed, leading to longer shipment cycles.
This poses a unique problem for India, which produces 20.68 million tonnes, or 44%, of the world's mangoes annually, the most by any country. India has been trying to increase exports of the king of fruits vis-a-vis China, which ships out more mangoes, including Indian varieties such as Dasheri, Chausa, Alphonso and Langra.
The UAE is India’s top mango export destination. The Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar together account for 40-45% of India’s total mango exports. Trade involving all these countries has been disrupted by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Refrigerated containers are critical for transporting perishable commodities such as mangoes, which need to be stored at temperatures of 11-18°C to maintain quality. However, delays and difficulties in repositioning containers have made it harder for Indian exporters to secure adequate capacity.
Refrigerated container charges went up by about $1,000 in March. Additionally, refrigerated container charges now include a $4,000 levy—about four times the usual freight cost to West Asia—making exports economically unviable.
Exporters said delays in getting reefers could lead to spoilage and financial losses, especially for premium varieties such as Alphonso, Kesar and Banganapalli, which are in high demand. A prolonged disruption could affect export volumes and earnings, while also impacting farmers who depend on overseas markets for better price realization.
Most vulnerable point
“Any decline in purchasing power, trade disruptions, or diversion of shipping routes in the Gulf directly impacts Indian exporters at their most vulnerable point. We currently have 260 tonnes of mango orders in hand for Gulf countries, but there is uncertainty over how they will be fulfilled amid the war," said Nadeem Siddiqui, a mango exporter in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh.
India’s fresh mango exports reached 29,938.40 tonnes in FY25, valued at $56.5 million, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said on its website, citing data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics. The major mango-growing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Telangana and West Bengal.
“The high freight cost, war surcharges and limited availability of refrigerated containers have cast a shadow over exports of in-season mango varieties. April marks the onset of India’s peak mango season, featuring early- to mid-summer varieties like Alphonso and Banganapalli. Challenges are emerging not just for shipments to West Asia, but to other destinations as well as longer shipping routes increase costs and are likely to disrupt sailing frequency,” said Ekram Husain, vice-president of the VAFA Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association (Maharashtra).
The peak season for mangoes in India is April, May and June.
"Even more concerning is the absence of reliable sailing schedules, leaving exporters grappling with uncertainty and frequent delays," said Naresh Kapoor, vice president and chief supply chain officer at Hyfun Foods, a manufacturer of frozen, ready-to-cook potato-based snacks.
Experts said India does not manufacture reefers, making it reliant on containers that are in use in international trade.
Most economical option
Sulakshana Rao, a senior fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, said the sea route is India's most economical option for fruit and vegetable exports. Sea freight to Europe costs about ₹50 per kg and to the US about ₹80 per kg compared to air freight of ₹240-300 per kg.
But sea-based fruit and vegetable exports depend critically on reefers, which maintain precise temperatures that perishables such as mangoes and bananas require during transit.
"For perishables like fresh mangoes, re-routing ships around the Cape of Good Hope adds transit time, which already-stressed shelf lives (mangoes last only 28 days from harvest) cannot absorb. When reefer slots are unaffordable on the sea route, exporters are forced to fall back on air freight, which costs 5-6 times more, squeezes already-thin margins and makes Indian mangoes less price-competitive compared to Latin American exporters who have better sea logistics,” Rao said.
Fresh mangoes are highly perishable, and for long-haul markets like the US and Europe, air freight is often the only viable option.
“The UAE is a significant market for Indian perishables and containers deployed on this route are typically repositioned once vessels return to Indian ports. If vessel movement itself is disrupted, a reefer shortage becomes inevitable. Moreover, rerouting via Khorfakkan port (on the east coast of UAE) leads to higher operational costs,” said Shankar Shinde, managing director of Global Express Multilogistics Pvt. Ltd., a Mumbai-based reefer service provider.
Shinde, who formerly served as chairman of the Federation of Freight Forwarders' Associations in India, also said reefer freight rates to the Gulf have surged almost eightfold—from $800-1,000 earlier to about $8,500 in March.
Queries emailed to the spokespersons of India’s agriculture and commerce ministries remained unanswered till press time.