Last Tuesday, the Department for Industries and Commerce, in collaboration with Airport Authority of India (AAI) and AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Ltd at Assam Administrative Staff College, Khanapara, held a meeting on air cargo development with an end-to-end logistics value chain.
Additional Chief Secretary for Industries and Commerce, Ravi Capoor: “Exports from Guwahati Airport now encompass fresh vegetables, fruits and spices sourced from various districts of Assam, being directly exported to the markets of Dubai, UAE.”
D K Kamra, regional executive director, Airport Authority of India (AAI), North East Region, said “With the facility of direct custom clearance of air cargo at the Guwahati Airport, the farmers and exporters can send their produce from Guwahati to any part of the globe through Air Cargo. Similar cargo complexes will come up in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Imphal and Agartala.”
The farmers and exporters suggested that air freight charges from Guwahati to Gulf and European Nations should be on par with the freight charge from Kolkata. They also expressed the necessity of cold storage, pack houses, buyer-seller meets, lab-testing facilities and a state organic certification agency.
