India taps Oman to rescue $11.8 billion food exports to West Asia

With the 2026 Iran war creating sustained risk of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, India is actively exploring the use of Omani ports and overland land br...

What Happened

With the 2026 Iran war creating sustained risk of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, India is actively exploring the use of Omani ports and overland land bridge routes to maintain its $11.8 billion food export corridor to West Asian markets.
The strategy involves leveraging Oman's strategic geography — its coastline lies outside the Strait of Hormuz on the Arabian Sea side — to receive Indian food shipments and then redistribute them to Persian Gulf destinations through Oman's road and port networks.
Key Omani ports under consideration include the Port of Salalah (southern Oman, on the Arabian Sea, recently expanded to 6.5 million TEU capacity) and Port of Duqm (on the Sea of Oman, outside the Gulf, with multimodal infrastructure including road and rail connections to Gulf markets).
India exported approximately $4.43 billion worth of rice to West Asia in 2025 alone — representing 36.7% of its total global rice exports — alongside significant volumes of wheat, meat, dairy, spices, and other agricultural commodities.
The bilateral India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed in December 2025, provides a strong institutional framework for this expanded logistics cooperation.
The initiative reflects a broader strategic imperative: more than 70% of India's shipments of certain food categories — including sheep and goat meat, fresh beef, bananas, and select spices — are destined for West Asia.

Static Topic Bridges

Strait of Hormuz: World's Most Critical Maritime Chokepoint

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the broader Arabian Sea. It lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south.

Width at narrowest point: approximately 33 km (21 miles), with usable shipping lanes of only about 3 km in each direction.
Oil and gas throughput (2025): approximately 20 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil and petroleum products — nearly 20–25% of global seaborne oil trade.
In 2025, nearly 15 mb/d of crude oil (approximately 34% of global crude oil trade) passed through the strait, with most destined for Asia (China, India, Japan are top importers).
Around one-fifth of global LNG trade also passes through the strait, primarily from Qatar.
Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE have operational crude oil pipelines that can bypass the strait, with a combined capacity of 3.5–5.5 mb/d — far short of total Hormuz flows.
India imports approximately 40% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Connection to this news: A blockade or sustained threat to Hormuz does not merely affect oil flows — it disrupts all shipping into and out of the Persian Gulf, including India's food exports destined for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iraq.

India-Oman Bilateral Relations and the CEPA Framework

Oman occupies a unique diplomatic position as India's most trusted and longest-standing partner in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with ties tracing back centuries through Indian Ocean trade.

India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed: December 18, 2025, in Muscat.
Bilateral trade FY 2024–25: USD 10.61 billion (up from USD 8.94 billion the previous year).
CEPA provides India with 100% duty-free access across 98.08% of Omani tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India's exports by value.
India's exports to Oman include petroleum products, processed minerals, agricultural commodities (especially basmati rice), and manufactured goods.
India has committed significant investment in Oman's Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Total foreign investment committed to Duqm (from India, China, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Jordan) exceeds $14 billion.

Connection to this news: The CEPA provides the legal and tariff framework for India to use Omani ports as a re-export and transit hub — Indian food goods entering Oman duty-free can then be redistributed into Gulf markets through Oman's road and sea links that do not pass through Hormuz.

Oman as a Logistics Gateway: Port Infrastructure

Oman's geography and port infrastructure make it uniquely positioned as an alternative routing hub outside the Persian Gulf chokepoint.

Port of Salalah (southern Oman, on the Arabian Sea): Recently completed a $300 million upgrade (early 2025), raising capacity from 4.5 million TEU to 6.5 million TEU. Features 2,000 additional reefer (refrigerated) plugs, critical for perishable food exports. Serves as a transshipment hub for East Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia.
Port of Duqm (eastern Oman, on the Sea of Oman): Positioned outside the Strait of Hormuz; features multimodal infrastructure — maritime, road, air, and rail connections. Part of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with significant Indian investment. Designed as a one-stop gateway for goods entering the Middle East from Asia.
Port of Sohar (northern Oman): Industrial port with petrochemical and logistics facilities; growing role in GCC supply chains.

Connection to this news: Salalah's refrigerated capacity makes it especially relevant for India's perishable food exports (dairy, meat, bananas, fresh produce). Duqm's multimodal connectivity allows goods to reach Gulf destinations by road even if sea routes through Hormuz are restricted.

India's Food Export Dependence on West Asia

West Asia (the Gulf Cooperation Council and surrounding region) is the single largest destination bloc for India's agricultural exports.

Total India-West Asia food and agricultural exports (2025): approximately $11.8 billion — over one-fifth of India's total agri-export earnings.
Rice: India exported $4.43 billion to West Asia in 2025 — 36.7% of total global rice exports. Basmati rice is a premium product with dominant market share in Gulf supermarkets.
Other key categories: wheat, sheep and goat meat, fresh beef, dairy products, bananas, spices, copra. For some categories, over 70% of total Indian exports go to West Asia.
Disruption impact: Approximately 4 lakh (400,000) tonnes of basmati rice were reportedly stuck at ports or in transit at sea during peak disruption phases of the 2026 Iran conflict.
Fertilizer vulnerability: India imports approximately 35% of its fertilizers from Gulf countries — a conflict disrupting Hormuz also raises domestic food production costs.

Connection to this news: The Oman rerouting strategy is both an export protection measure (getting food to paying Gulf customers) and a food security measure (maintaining the supply chain that funds India's agricultural sector and earns foreign exchange).

India's Strategic Use of Alternative Connectivity

This development fits into India's broader strategic pivot toward multi-modal and Hormuz-bypass connectivity.

India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC): Announced at the G20 New Delhi Summit (2023), involves a rail and shipping route through the UAE and Saudi Arabia to Europe, partially bypassing the Suez Canal. Oman is a complementary node.
Chabahar Port (Iran): India has invested in Iran's Chabahar port to access Afghanistan and Central Asia — but this route is itself now disrupted by the 2026 Iran war.
International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC): Links India to Russia and Central Asia via Iran — also affected by the current conflict.
The Oman routing strategy is thus not just about food exports; it represents a broader reorientation of India's West Asian logistics architecture away from Iran-dependent routes.

Connection to this news: The irony is significant — the 2026 Iran war has disrupted India's Chabahar and INSTC investments while simultaneously pushing India toward a deeper partnership with Oman, which is positioned outside the conflict zone.

Key Facts & Data

India's food exports to West Asia (2025): $11.8 billion, over one-fifth of total agri-exports.
Basmati rice exports to West Asia (2025): $4.43 billion — 36.7% of India's global rice exports.
India's oil imports through Hormuz: approximately 40% of total oil imports.
Strait of Hormuz width at navigable points: approximately 3 km per traffic lane (each direction).
Salalah Port upgraded capacity (2025): 6.5 million TEU, with 2,000 reefer plugs.
India-Oman CEPA signed: December 18, 2025; grants 100% duty-free access on 98.08% of Omani tariff lines.
India-Oman bilateral trade FY 2024–25: USD 10.61 billion.
Global LNG trade through Hormuz: approximately one-fifth of global LNG trade (primarily Qatari).