New Delhi, March 28 -- Indian tiles exporters have borne the brunt of the Red Sea crisis leading to a dip in volume and value. Tiles exports by volume fell by 12.5% month-on-month and 4.2% year-on-year to 40.6 million square metre in January, showed government data compiled by ICICI Securities Ltd. Thanks to the base effect, for April 2023-January 2024, exports remained strong at around 491 million square metre, up nearly 35% year-on-year.

The top three geographies for tile exports during this period included GCC countries, the US, and Iraq.

According to industry participants, the month-on-month slowdown in tile exports was due to higher freight rates and longer transit times due to geopolitical instability at Suez Canal. If the export ...