\n<\/p>\n
Since the war broke out last weekend, Mr Ramzani said his logistics costs have gone up by 25 per cent, which he has absorbed so far.<\/span><\/p>\n Dates, which Muslims eat during their pre-dawn meals and to break their fast, are transported in refrigerated containers to keep them fresh.<\/span><\/p>\n However, major shipping lines have imposed war risk surcharges on cargo moving to and from the Middle East. These surcharges can reach up to S$5,000 (US$3,920) per container.<\/span><\/p>\n Observers say shifting trade routes could also lead to delays of up to 14 days.<\/span><\/p>\n To cope with this, Mr Ramzani has started pooling resources with other importers – sharing costs and risks – to bring in different types of dry fruits, nuts and dates. They first used this strategy during the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n “We realised because it was not possible for a single importer to import everything \u2026 we sat down and discussed: \u2018Why don’t we share one region? You import from other regions, I import them (from another). We bring in all the stuff here, then we share with each other\u2019,\u201d Mr Ramzani recounted.<\/span><\/p>\n