Cargo exports from Tiruchi Airport soar
Cargo exports from Tiruchi Airport continue to climb up
steadily and the Airports Authority of India is expecting over 50 per
cent growth during the current financial year. The air cargo terminal
here has registered a high of 410 tonnes of cargo during May.
Vegetables and fruits account for a major portion of the volumes,
despite the slump in production owing to the drought conditions and the
spurt in the price of various vegetables. But for this, the volume would
have been much higher, airport sources said.
In
March this year, the air cargo terminal had handled 395 tonnes and the
figure has touched 410 tonnes in May. The previous high was 313 tonnes
handled in January early this year. Cargo exports from the airport had
registered 44 per cent growth in 2012-13 and this year the growth is
expected to be more than 50 per cent. The cargo terminal handled 2,920
tonnes of cargo in 2012-13 against 2,022 tonnes recorded in the previous
financial year. “We expect to handle a minimum of 4,500 tonnes during
the current fiscal,” S. Dharmaraj, Airport Director, told The Hindu.
Airport officials attribute the steady growth to increase in uplift
capacity, especially after Tiger Airways started lifting cargo from here
to Singapore in September last year. Sri Lankan Airlines, Air Asia, and
Mihin Lanka, were the other carriers lifting cargo from here. With Air
Asia expected to introduce a third daily frequency on the Tiruchi-Kuala
Lumpur sector from July, the uplift capacity would increase further, Mr.
Dharmaraj said.
Consignments were mainly sent to
Kuwait, Dubai, Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Colombo. The export
market to Europe was still untapped for want of connectivity, said A.
Moorthy, Branch Manager, Skyfield India Pvt. Ltd., a major clearing and
forwarding agency in Tiruchi.
“There is much more
demand for vegetables and fruits even from Gulf countries. But given the
capacity constraints, we could not cater to the demand. If more
airlines introduce services to the city, we can export more,” Mr.
Moorthy said. The AAI was extending full support with consignments being
handled even on Sundays at the cargo terminal, he added. The
composition of the cargo exported from Tiruchi was expanding gradually
to include readymade garments, fabrics, leather goods, pharma products,
fish, and crabs.
However, assorted vegetables and fruits constitute more than 85 per cent of the volumes.
The
slump in production caused by drought in the region was impacting on
the exports, say some of the exporters. “Even though we don’t mind the
price rise, we could not meet the orders fully as we face problems in
procurement as production has come down of late,” says a representative
of another export agency.
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