Standing tall in the face of pandemic
Kannur Airport is building cold chain facilities to ease export of perishable goods while maintaining global standards. Dr. Venu V., IAS, Addl. Chief Secy and MD , Kannur International Airport, says airport began exporting perishable goods on October 16.
What are the challenges involved in handling perishable shipments? Efficient transportation, crop-specific infrastructure, processing and valueadded facilities, grading and packaging units, standardised procedures for handling perishable shipments, and training are some of the areas that need focussed development.
Are Indian airports ready with perishable goods handling cargo terminals and technology required to handle such shipments?
Airports supporting perishable movement in India have the necessary infrastructure, including cold chain, technology and material handling equipment, to ensure smooth handling of perishables from the air cargo terminal. Kannur Airport is building infrastructure with the necessary cold chain facilities and technology to facilitate seamless handling of perishable cargo without compromising any of the global standards. This facility will be commissioned by June 2022.
Has the pandemic led to a rise in demand for perishable goods? What other products are shipped from Kannur Airport besides pharma and agri products?
COVID-19 has hit air cargo in general. Kannur Airport has started exports of perishables from October 16, 2021 and perishable exports increased from 150 MT to 300 MT in a quarter. Garments and spices are other commodities that are getting exported, apart from agriculture products. We have not commenced pharmaceutical movements out of the Kannur Airport.
Since the perishable goods are time and temperature sensitive, how efficient is the Indian cold supply chain?
Adoption of technology, knowledge sharing, and introduction of mechanisation are some areas which will improve efficiency in supply chain
As I had stated earlier, the supply chain for perishable or time-sensitive products should be looked at from ‘Field to Market’ or ‘Producers to Consumer’. Multiple stakeholders are involved and need more collaboration in order to ensure the integrity of the product is maintained till it reaches the end consumers.