Export market set to take off

OPPORTUNITY abounds for increased trade between Cairns and Singapore with exporters waiting in the wings for larger aircraft to start making regular journeys.

Air Freight Handling Services manager director Barb Ford oversees SilkAir’s cargo operations at Cairns Airport and was among a small trade delegation just returned from Singapore.

The visit, led by Cairns Regional Council Mayor Bob Manning and Advance Cairns, cemented her confidence that the trade relationship would and could grow.

She said SilkAir had committed to increasing its regular flights to Cairns to five a week in the near future, although no exact dates had been chosen.

The possibility of larger air craft coming to Far North Queensland was another confidence booster.

“For us, airfreight is governed by the size of the plane,” Ms Ford said.

“Ultimately, containerised planes would be ideal but that is probably still two to five years off.”

Total Food Network director Lui Garozzo was among the small delegation, seeking out new opportunities for his fresh meat and produce export business.

He said Singapore was a tough market but trade barriers were much more manageable than some areas, including Papua New Guinea where he holds interests.

“I can’t send chicken PNG,” he said.

“In Singapore, everything is really open and very well set up. When we get some true wide-bodied aircraft to Singapore, that will really set us up.”

Ms Ford said a priority in the longer term would be switching from regional subsidiary airline SilkAir to its parent company Singapore Airlines.

“It happened in the ’90s with Singapore flying into here,” she said.

“You can see the Singapore Government is very keen to do business with Australia.”

editorial@cairnspost.com.au facebook.com/TheCairnsPost www.cairnspost.com.au twitter.com/TheCairnsPost

to