A Greek sojourn for cargo

The 43rd annual convention of the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI), held in Europe for the first time, stressed on expanding cargo services and trade between India and Greece.

The ACAAI Convention provided an opportunity for serious deliberations on stimulating topics pertaining to the revitalisation of air cargo in the context of global recession, the rules, regulations, processes, reforms, etc., which are essential for securing the air cargo supply chain. Commenting on the possible expansion of air cargo services between India and Greece, Hemant Bhatia, President, ACAAI, said, “India and Greece have recently signed an ‘Open Skies Agreement,’ which will permit airlines from India to operate unlimited number of flights to Greece, while Greek airlines have been granted unlimited traffic rights to six Indian metro cities, viz. New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad. This development offers new opportunity for the air freight industry.” As per preliminary data gathered by ACAAI, the value of exports from Greece to India was 37.9 million, while the value of

€187.2 Indian exports to Greece was million during January-July, 2016. Bhatia informs, “M. Manimekalai, Ambassador of India to Greece, and the officials at the Embassy of India at Athens are very keen to enhance the bilateral trade and commercial relations between the two countries, and they are making all possible efforts towards this objective. With the Embassy’s endeavours and the greater air connectivity which has become possible because of the new agreement, the volume of trade in both directions can be expected to increase substantially.” The estimated rate of growth of logistics industry in India in fiscal 2016-17 at approximately 7.5 per cent will easily be the highest in the world. Despite the predictions of a slight down turn in the growth rate during the next two quarters due to demonetisation, growth at even 7-7.2 per cent will still far exceed the growth projections of all other countries. “Connectivity

With the Embassy’s endeavours and the greater air connectivity, the volume of trade in both directions can be expected to increase substantially

by air is now possible to virtually every nook and corner of the world. The global markets of the new century are highly dynamic and their requirements must be fulfilled almost instantaneously. In this context, the air freight industry alone can meet the need for speed in the transportation of goods expeditiously from any country to any part of the globe as per the specific requirements of every market,” says Bhatia.