Maharashtra mantralaya lockdown due to Covid-19 hits egg export from Namakkal hard

NAMAKKAL: Egg exporters in the district are staring at a huge loss as shipments to Oman, Qatar and UAE have been stuck at various stages of transit in the absence of clearance from the home ministry officials in Maharashtra.
Having gone into lockdown mode in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak, the Maharashtra mantralaya won’t be accessible to the exporters till March 31.
Pointing out that nearly one crore eggs worth Rs 5 crore have been at various stages of transit from the Mumbai port, the exporters said the cargoes can’t either be brought back or delivered at the end destinations in the present scenario.“They are likely to go waste,” an exporter said.
According to Dr P V Senthil, a leading egg exporter and general secretary of Livestock Agri Farmers’ Trade Association, they have to get export documents attested by both the chamber of commerce in Mumbai and Maharashtra home ministry officials before submitting them to the consulates of Oman, Qatar or UAE. “Only then they would accept the documents and issue papers to deliver the shipment in their countries.”
However, with access to the home ministry office restricted till March 31, the exporters have no other option to get the clearance papers for now.
“Without any prior intimation, officials simply closed the home ministry office. Sans its attestation, the documents and containers will not be accepted by the consulates of Oman, Qatar or UAE. The whole shipment is likely to go waste as eggs come with an expiry date,” Senthil said.
He said many containers had reached the destination, while the remaining were in transit. “The exporters are badly affected as most consulates are in Mumbai. If we won’t be able to deliver the cargoes in time, it will affect the country’s credibility also.”
The exporters have sought the intervention of both the state and central governments to find a solution to the issue. “On behalf of all exporters and in the national interest, we humbly pray the state and central governments to kindly make arrangements to accept the documents for attestation. This could be done at the entrance gate of mantralaya, where a staff member could collect the documents and return them the next day. Even token system is appreciated,” another exporter said.
Mohan Kumaramangalam, honorary president, Livestock Agri Farmers’ Trade Association, said the lockdown of Maharashtra mantralaya has hit the export of many agriculture, poultry, meat and food products worth several thousands of crores. “It will badly hit our economy and global trade. Appropriate steps should be taken at the earliest to ensure smooth export business,” he said.