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Vimala Vasan

Abu Dhabi , Nov. 26

THE Indian air cargo industry, which registered a 10 per cent growth in the first-half of the current fiscal, is in the process of attuning itself to global developments and tackle crucial issues such as infrastructure and related problems, according to a senior spokesman for the Air Cargo Association of India (ACAI).

The apex Indian association is set to deliberate a number of issues facing the global and Indian air cargo industry at a three-day conference that gets underway in Dubai from Thursday.

Mr Deepak Dadlani, Chairman of the convention committee told Business Line that the 31st annual conference of the ACAI is being held for the second time in Dubai. Last year, it was held in Colombo.

Around 270 delegates including senior airline officials and government officials are expected to attend the conference, the theme of which is "Convergence and Consolidation," he said.

"In view of the general consolidation taking place in the global air cargo industry and the mergers and alliances that have begun, particularly in the West, we thought it was a good idea to keep this as the theme for this conference. In India, it is at an incipient stage and it would be good for us to study various aspects of the convergence taking place across the globe," Mr Dadlani said.

The Indian air cargo industry had registered a 14 per cent growth in the last fiscal and has already grown by ten per cent in the first six months of the current year, with prospects for a higher end of the year performance than last year, he said. Exports and imports by air totalled 700,000 tons. Shipments by air were valued at around $17 billion to $18 billion, he said.

Various aspects of the air cargo industry including international trade, supply chain management, logistics and distribution and meeting client requirements as the business becomes more comprehensive and complex will be discussed at the conference, Mr Dadlani said.

"General standards in the industry have been raised and in India, there is a much more professional approach and the picture is positive. Infrastructural problems remain a major impediment in India and we hope that this crucial aspect is looked into seriously by the concerned authorities," he said.

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