diff --git a/aiokafka/producer/producer.py b/aiokafka/producer/producer.py
index 9d6266e1..0f6b7a73 100644
--- a/aiokafka/producer/producer.py
+++ b/aiokafka/producer/producer.py
@@ -321,6 +321,7 @@ def __init__(
         )
 
         self._closed = False
+        self._started = False
 
     # Warn if producer was not closed properly
     # We don't attempt to close the Consumer, as __del__ is synchronous
@@ -340,13 +341,28 @@ def __del__(self, _warnings=warnings):
             self._loop.call_exception_handler(context)
 
     async def start(self):
-        """Connect to Kafka cluster and check server version"""
+        """Connect to Kafka cluster and check server version.
+
+        This method is idempotent - calling it multiple times on the same
+        producer instance will only start the producer once. This prevents
+        creating multiple sender tasks which would cause a busy loop due to
+        multiple senders sharing the same message accumulator.
+        """
+        if self._started:
+            log.debug("Producer already started, skipping duplicate start() call")
+            return
+
         assert self._loop is get_running_loop(), (
             "Please create objects with the same loop as running with"
         )
         log.debug("Starting the Kafka producer")  # trace
-        await self.client.bootstrap()
-        await self._sender.start()
+        self._started = True
+        try:
+            await self.client.bootstrap()
+            await self._sender.start()
+        except Exception:
+            self._started = False
+            raise
         log.debug("Kafka producer started")
 
     async def flush(self):