Air cargo priorities for Northeast

The waiver of landing, parking, and route navigation facility charges at select airports are aimed at attracting air cargo operators for transporting agricultural and horticultural produce from north-eastern states and other hilly regions. The success of the scheme will require synergising the waiver with other modes of transport from the farms to the cargo facility at the airport along the supply chain. The scheme has opened a window of opportunities for entrepreneurs in the northeastern region. For the states in the region, the incentive brings an opportunity to eye the domestic as well as export markets for farm products and diversify the export basket. Most farms produce in the region being organic has a natural advantage to fetch a premium price and trigger demands but logistics bottlenecks in the supply chain have always compelled producers, suppliers, and exporters to curtail their dreams. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced the waivers on seven cargo routes covering 53 airports of the country under Krishi UDAN 2.0 which focuses on perishable agricultural and horticultural produce from Northeast and hilly regions. The model adopted for targeted promotion of cargo of farm produce is the 'hub and spoke model' under which distribution of goods takes place from a centralised hub. Airside transit and transhipment infrastructure will be created at Bagdogra and Guwahati airports, and at Leh, Srinagar, Nagpur, Nashik, Ranchi, and Raipur airports as a part of focus on northeast, tribal and hilly districts. Cargo facilities are also proposed to be developed at Agartala, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Imphal, Jorhat, Lilabari, Silchar and Tezpur airports under the model in the current financial year. The routes with focused products for air cargo identified are Guwahati and Hong Kong - pulses, fruits and vegetables, Dibrugarh-Delhi and Dubai for mandarin and oranges. Agartala, Delhi, Dubai for pineapple triggers hopes for farm producers and entrepreneurs in the agricultural and horticultural sectors. Having a hassle-free cargo movement at the hubs will require huge investment for the expansion of existing cargo handling areas with modern facilities of transit and transhipment to cater to future market demands. According to Ministry's estimates, an investment to the tune of Rs 12 to 14 crore is required for the construction and operationalization of an integrated cargo facility of 6500 sq. metres with facilities to handle perishable, valuable and hazardous goods. A new Cargo Terminal at Agartala is under construction with a one-time holding capacity of 40,150 MT at an estimated cost of Rs 14.50 crore which, after commissioning will boost the export of pineapple from Tripura. Highways, states as well as national that connect the airports play a crucial role in ensuing quick movement of perishable farm produce. Aligning the Krishi UDAN 2.0 with highway expansion and improvement in the region is necessary to make the scheme work better. States in the region updating statistics on agricultural and horticultural productions, areas with surplus production with details about connectivity to hubs under the Civil Aviation Ministry scheme and making easily accessible through official websites will help entrepreneurs, exporters to identify the potential available and provide the correct information in response to trade queries. Dashboards with real-time disaggregated village-wise data can help them identify the bottlenecks from procurement centres at the farm level to air cargo facilities including availability to cold storage and cold chain logistics solutions in the entire supply chain. The data uploaded in the official departmental websites are old and inadequate to provide a clear picture of the availability of surplus produce for inland trade as well as the export market. This calls for state governments making the departments concerned to put in place a mechanism of collection and updating real-time data on every commodity, market information about demand, supplies, wholesale, and retail prices in the destination markets. Updated information on connectivity status on the road, railway, and inland water transport from the production centres through a single dashboard will also help air freighters identify the potential of cargo transport in the region and plan their air cargo operation accordingly. The State government facilitating exposure visits of entrepreneurs to air cargo hubs within the region as wells as outside the region can help them get practical ideas on how to harness the air cargo potential that is going to be created in the region for tapping the market potential for farm produce in the region. Imparting training to the entrepreneurs on availing incentives available under various central sector and state government schemes that are aligned with Krishi UDAN scheme to avail subsidies for air cargo transport of agricultural and horticultural products is also essential to provide a comprehensive picture on opportunities that are already available and how to avail them. The Ministry of Civil Aviation will create cargo facilities and incentivise the supply of agricultural products. If the states fail to utilise the facilities, the investments in creating such assets will become wasteful expenditure.