Enquiries from Russia put exporters in a spot

The immediate challenge of the Indian exporters is to find shipping lines that will take their cargo to Russia.

Indian exporters are getting lots of enquiries from Russian entities for supply of various types of goods. Many of them, especially the smaller exporters, are not sure whether they can respond in confidence that they can execute the orders and get the payments.

Before invading Ukraine, Russia — mainly an exporter of military hardware and commodities like oil, gas, coal, and some metals — relied on imports from Europe and North America to meet most of its other requirements. After the invasion of Ukraine and the stringent economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, the position has