It’s raining roses at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport). Enhancing its reputation as the airport of choice for perishables in India, BLR Airport cargo witnessed a near two-fold increase in rose shipments in the run-up to Valentine’s Day this year. BLR Airport facilitated the movement of approximately 5.15 lakh kgs of roses to 25 international and domestic destinations vs. 2.7 lakh kgs shipped in 2021. The demand for roses during the Valentine’s season in the domestic market has seen a considerable rise this season. Domestic shipments have witnessed a significant improvement, having increased to 3.15 lakh kgs (~6.5 million stems) vs. 1.03 lakh kgs in 2021, recording over 200% growth. Around 2 lakh kgs (~7.3 million stems) were exported to international destinations this year vs. last year’s 1.7 lakh kgs. “Bengaluru is the biggest exporter of roses in India. At BLR Airport, we take pride in becoming a channel to aid the local community, growers and shippers by facilitating shipment of their produce while maintaining freshness. Our cargo infrastructure, powered by technology, provides rapid distribution of perishable cargo, making BLR Airport the preferred cargo airport in South India. We will continue to work with our cargo partners to introduce new initiatives and facilities that cater to constantly evolving demand,” said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, BIAL. The top domestic destinations for roses include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati and Chandigarh. Among the top international destinations were Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London, Amsterdam, Kuwait, Auckland, Beirut, Manila, Muscat and Dubai. Aided with robust cold-chain infrastructure, operated by Air India SATS and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore, and adequate airline capacities to key markets globally, BLR Airport has transformed itself as …

Coimbatore and nearby areas that are known for presence of manufacturing industries in various sectors will soon benefit from modern logistics facilities. The Central Government has identified Coimbatore as one of the two locations in the State for a multi-modal logistics park. The park is expected to meet the logistics needs of not only those involved in foreign trade but also for domestic cargo movement. An official of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said, “The park would come up on 100 to 120 acres in Coimbatore district. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation would identify the land. Simultaneously, two private companies were preparing a detailed project report and the NHAI would develop the infrastructure. We hope that bids will be called in a year to develop the park.” The park will have warehouses and proximity and access for air, rail, and road cargo movement. The land will be identified taking into consideration several such factors, the official added. Raja M. Shanmugham, president of Tiruppur Exporters Association, said this was a much-needed infrastructure. The government should ensure that costs reduce for the exporters because of the facility. “Such infrastructure are meant to support a region’s trade. So the infrastructure should be created first and these will gain the trade’s patronage over a period of time,” he said.

Lufthansa Cargo is taking part in a new project by the German government to digitalise air cargo. The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure’s (BMVI) “Digital Test Field Air Cargo” project is being coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML). Within the project, Lufthansa Cargo said it is focusing on intensified data exchange between all partners in the transport chain, even beyond the roles that have been typical in the transport process to date. This data exchange is the basis for all data-driven optimisations and AI-based applications. For example, digital accompanying documents from manufacturers to consignees will be made available to all parties by using IATA’s new, open ONE Record standard. This standard was co-designed by Lufthansa Cargo. Likewise, temperature data, position data and photos of the entire transport chain are to be made available in order to identify and solve problems earlier. This can increase transparency and make processes and capacities more efficient through better forecasts and higher data quality. Eventually, this also leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions, said Lufthansa Cargo.

In the last 4 months, Amazon India has fortified plans (announced last year) to expand warehousing operations by 40% and has leased a total of 2.5 million sq.ft. space, spread across Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The US based e-com giant is also currently negotiating with Blackstone Group’s Horizon Industrial Parks to lease another half a million sq.ft. of warehousing space in Delhi and Alipore. Amazon has been signing deals with an aim to augment its warehouses across India, owing to the increasing e-com demand ever since the pandemic struck. Since late 2021, it has sealed 2 major deals with ESR for 6 lakh sq.ft. warehouse space at Bhiwandi and 1 million sq.ft. warehouse space at Shamshabad in South Hyderabad. It signed another major deal with LOGOS, for 1 million sq.ft. warehouse space at Devanahalli Industrial and Logistics Park. Amazon, with this expansion in warehousing capacity, will be spreading its wings over 15 states, supporting 8.5 million sellers throughout the country.

Even amidst the various challenges that arose in global supply chain due to the pandemic, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) witnessed promising signs of EXIM movement going back to the pre-COVID days. CSMIA’s Air Cargo terminal in CY 2021 handled a record 7.7 lakh tones of cargo which is 28% more than around 6 lakh tones of cargo facilitated in 2020. CSMIA in the past year facilitated the increasing demand of export goods across the globe and has month-on-month witnessed a steady rise in shipments while combating the second wave of Covid-19. In CY 2021, of the approx. 7.7 lakh tonnes of cargo handled, around 2.1 lakh tonnes was facilitated domestically while over 5.6 lakh tonnes was facilitated internationally, thus, recording a 30% rise in domestic volume and 27% rise in international volume in comparison to CY 2020. The overall cargo volume at CSMIA is expected to witness a 10% growth in CY 2022 and is projected to achieve 95% of pre-covid volume by the end of CY 2022. CSMIA has successfully mobilized essential commodities across India and the world considering the fact that essentials including pharmaceutical goods, vaccines, COVID-related aid & agro products saw a prominent rise in the past year. CSMIA, since the start of the pandemic, has handled over 10,000 cargo relief flights and transported over 12,000 tonnes of COVID-19 relief cargo which includes Covid vaccines & medicines, Oxygen concentrators & generators, diagnostic kits, medical equipment, face masks & face shields etc.

Robinsons Global Logistics Solutions (RGL), an asset-light third-party logistics and warehousing company, is on an accelerated growth trajectory. The company will be investing in excess of INR 20 Cr in 2022, and expanding its footprint across key metros, with a push in tier 2 and tier 3 towns across the country also. RGL will be adding more than 6 lakh Sq. ft warehousing space, and adopting a technology-driven approach to efficient and green operations. The company is also looking to increase their workforce by an additional 50%, inviting skilled talent that can be a part of the tech-driven vision. RGL’s expansion plans are driven by the management’s confidence in providing unmatched service delivery to existing and new customers whose demands are dynamic and evolving. The expansion plans for RGL involve setting up additional Grade A warehousing spaces of 6 Lakh sq. ft, across key locations of Bhiwandi, Kolkata, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai. The expansion activities kick-started with long terms agreements of 90,000 and 30,000 sq. ft area in Bhiwandi and Kolkata respectively in January, followed by launching a 75,000 sq. ft. in Gurugram in February. The company will also be leasing warehousing space in key metros in the South, starting with an RGL designed build-to-suit warehouse of 30,000 sq. ft in Hyderabad in May, 100,000 sq. ft in Bengaluru and 70,000 sq. ft in Chennai, by August 2022. There will be another 3 warehouses that have been identified in Gurugram, Indore & Bhiwandi which will be added in November and December 2022.

APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd) announced the financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2021. The company reported a net profit of INR 437.64 million for Q3FY22 as against INR 543.27million in Q3FY21. Revenue from operations for the quarter under consideration stood at INR 1,685.61 million as against INR 1,984.00 million in Q3FY21. EBITDA for the quarter was at INR 866.94 million as against INR 1,100.21 million during the same quarter last year. EBIDTA margin stood at 51% in Q3FY22 as against 55% in Q3FY21. For the nine-months, the Company reported net profit of INR 1,212.03 million compared to INR 1,527.02 million in the corresponding period of last year. Revenue from operations for the period reduced 3% to INR 5,228.78 million. EBITDA was INR 2,836.08 million as against INR 3,084.26 million in the nine-month period that ended Dec 31, 2020. The container cargo business for the quarter stood at 157,256 TEUs, bulk business was 0.67 MT and liquid business was 0.24 MT. 7,359 cars were handled under RoRo category for the quarter under review.

India’s leading commercial EV manufacturer Altigreen raises ~Rs 300 crore (approx. US$ 40 Million) through its Series A round, to boost its EV manufacturing and launch new products including LCVs and strengthen its countrywide presence. With its road-ready commercial EVs, powered by its proprietary drivetrain technology the company is already changing the face of last-mile delivery and, with this funding, will rapidly accelerate towards its next phase of growth. The freshly raised funds will be utilized to ramp up production capabilities, accelerate R&D, fast-paced EV adoption, and develop a robust Pan-India network to offer the best and cleanest last-mile transportation solutions in India. The investment is led by Sixth Sense Ventures, along with Reliance New Energy (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited), Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA, and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore.

Commenting on the Monetary Policy Statement, keeping the Repo Rate unchanged, Dr A Sakthivel, President, FIEO said that the RBI has struck a nice balance between growth & inflation and evaluating the two, has not tinkered with the rates. At the same time, extension of the Emergency Credit Linked Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by the Hon’ble Finance Minister in the Budget 2022-23 will augment further the flow of credit to the exports sector. The President, FIEO said that RBI also acknowledged the challenges of containers and labour shortage and high freight rate, which had led to revision in the trade growth projection for 2022-23 at 6%. He added that the demand side of Indian exports is extremely encouraging and the export sector is all set to repeat its spectacular performance in the next financial year as well despite logistics constraints. Dr Sakthivel hoped that since the countries globally are now opening up, the logistics issues will be taken care of leading to reduction in the cycle of exports. At the same time, we should look into setting up container manufacturing in our own country to add another feather in our “Atma Nirbhar” strategy particularly as coastal manufacturing in the country is also gaining traction. The FIEO chief said that while the current value of Rupee is providing support to exports, we have to be watchful as recent capital outflows in many emerging economies have resulted in deprecation of their currencies significantly making them much more competitive.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal took a comprehensive review of initiatives taken by the various ports for facilitating Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and Operational Efficiency Through Technology (OETT) to boost growth under PM Gati Shakti National Plan in presence of Union MoS Shantanu Thakur, Secretary Dr Sanjeev Ranjan and chairmen of all major ports. PM GatiShakti – ‘National Master Plan’ aims to lay foundation for holistic infrastructure that will pave the path for integrated growth of the country’s economy. Urging the chairmen of all the Major Ports to put emphasis on promotion of Atma Nirbhar Bharat mission and skill development, the Union Minister said, “Integrated efforts which are being taken by ports and others will add speed to development works around the country. PM Gati Shakti will help the people, farmers, fishing community and strengthen India’s economy.” During the review, Secretary Dr Sanjeev Ranjan spoke on multi-modal connectivity, highlighting the seven pillars of growth under PM Gati Shakti, Smart, Mega and Green Ports, EoDB and Maritime India Vision(MIV) 2030.