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For the first time, pineapples from the North East region are being exported to Dubai.
A trial shipment of 1.2 tonnes of the Kew variety of pineapple was flagged off from Agartala to Dubai via Delhi on Friday. The consignment was airlifted by Spicejet at competitive rates.
“This initiative will pave the way for exports of other horticulture and floriculture produce from the region to major international markets very soon,” said DK Singh, Chairman of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda).
High transportation cost is often a major constraint for shipment of perishable cargo from the North-East. As a result, most of the agri produce grown in the region find it difficult to compete with the produce from other parts of the country.
In this background, Apeda had taken an initiative to persuade domestic carriers to charge competitive freight rates for shipping the perishables grown in the region.
Stakeholders such as Spicejet, Delhi Airport, Kremy Craft — a Kolkata-based exporter and Apeda were involved in the trial shipment. GMR Group helped with logistic support at Delhi.
“We expect other airlines also to come forward. There is lot of empty cargo space available while returning back to Delhi from the NE region. Therefore, airlines are offering competitive rates. From Delhi, these airlines operate connecting flights to Middle East,” Singh said.
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