Sri Lankan Cargo is tasked with raising its current business volume to 15-20%, and making nearly one-fifth of the total earnings of the Airline in the near to mid term.
Chamara Ranasinghe, Head of Cargo, SriLankan Airlines told The Island Financial Review last week that he and his team are confident that they could lift more shipments from and via India, China, the Middle East and Europe, as new transshipment trends are emerging in the region.
"SriLankan Cargo is the live wire in the entire air transportation process of more than 50% of farm- produce perishables exported from the country. We have the infrastructure and capacity to maintain the freshness of perishables such as fruit, vegetables, fresh fish and seafood, meat and flowers from the farm gate to the point of distribution or consumption.
"We help Sri Lankan food exporters to deliver a range of Sri Lankan products to the regional markets. When you are in Dubai and enjoy a king coconut, it could be one of those air freighted by SriLankan Cargo. Unlike value added exports, these farm produce perishables bring in 100% foreign revenue to the country; this means SriLankan Cargo plays a significant role in the country's GDP’, Niran Seneviratne of SriLankan Cargo Worldwide Sales said.
