India has 21.9 million tons of cargoes scheduled to arrive this month but with labor shortages and force majeure at some ports, many of the vessels could see discharge delays, according to IHS Markit associate director Pranay Shukla. That may have a knock-on effect on scheduled loadings at the exporting countries.
The situation may echo global trade disruptions seen last year after virus restrictions slowed shipments into China. While India accounts for only fraction of the global trade that China does, any delays in offloading vessels and releasing them to their next destination could create supply chain bottlenecks.