flydubai Cargo has obtained the regulatory approvals to transport dangerous goods with effect from February 1, 2021. With the certification from the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), flydubai can now transport dangerous goods in addition to general cargo, courier, live animals, postal mail, perishables, priority cargo and valuable cargo. The ongoing diversification of its service portfolio and continuous investment in adopting the latest technology, training and system automisation, supports flydubai Cargo’s commitment to providing its customers with seamless and effective supply chain solutions. Mohamed Hassan, Vice President of Cargo at flydubai, said, “The role that air cargo plays in the supply chain industry has been especially highlighted during the pandemic to ensure vital goods continue to be transported to where they are needed the most. We continue to invest in the latest technologies and look at opportunities to grow flydubai’s capabilities and reach. This certification will allow us to continue to work closely with our strategic partners to deliver a wider range of products to our customers while following the highest safety standards set by the regulators and the aircraft manufacturer. The team at flydubai has undergone an intensive training programme to achieve this new milestone and we will continue to enhance our product offering in line with the latest global standards and best practices.”

TIACA and Pharma.Aero has jointly released their second report for the global air cargo and pharmaceutical industries, outlining recommended practices and insights for effective COVID-19 vaccine air transportation and handling. The report reinforces that COVID-19 vaccines are of high value and urgent time and temperature sensitive products. As the vaccines are being transported across the globe, it is apparent that the challenge of COVID-19 vaccine global distribution demands the highest standards of Speed, Security, Reliability and Transparency. “To this end, open communication and air cargo community collaboration are paramount,” stated Nathan De Valck, Chairman of Pharma.Aero. The report details the role and recommended practices for each stakeholder in the air cargo supply chain when addressing the four major requirements identified. Both TIACA and Pharma.Aero encourage the industry to adopt a local air cargo community approach in executing these specific requirements. The project welcomed the formation of local air cargo communities in several key air cargo hubs, including some members of Sunrays’ Joint Task Force (JTF): • Brussels Airport’s BRUcure Task Force: Brussels Airport together with Air Cargo Belgium started the BRUcure task force, aiming to prepare the local cargo community stakeholders and align all resources and procedures for the correct handling of Covid-19 vaccines once they started moving through Brussels Airport. • Edmonton International Airport’s CEIV Cargo Community Ready Response: In early fall 2020, Edmonton International Airport’s CEIV cargo community and partners began preparing for the safe arrival, storage and deployment of vaccines destined for the Canadian region. • Miami International Airport’s MIAVAC19 Task Force: In anticipation of the eventual development of a COVID-19 vaccine, Miami International Airport formed the MIAVAC19 Task Force, a community partnership made up of both …

The World Logistics Passport (WLP), a major policy initiative established to increase trading opportunities between emerging markets, has announced India, Indonesia and South Africa as members. They join Colombia, Senegal, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Uruguay and the UAE in a club of trading nations sharing expertise to smooth trade flows around the world. The WLP creates opportunities for business across Africa, Asia, Central and South America to improve existing trading routes, and develop new ones, through the world’s first logistics loyalty program for freight forwarders and traders. It overcomes non-tariff trade barriers by fast-tracking cargo movement, reducing administrative costs, advancing cargo information and facilitating movement between ports and air. Take, for instance, the cargo journey from Jakarta to Johannesburg. Transporting high-value, low-weight goods through historically established transport routes in Europe takes considerably longer, and is therefore more expensive, than if the goods pass through Dubai. Through the WLP, traders can expect to save 25 per cent on freight costs and 10 per cent on transit time moving goods from Indonesia to South Africa. India the largest economy to join the WLP to date The WLP now counts Mumbai International Airport (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport), Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (Mumbai), and Emirates SkyCargo in India & Nepal as partners. Rizwan Soomar, CEO & MD, Subcontinent, DP World, said, “As more partners join the World Logistics Passport network in India, the opportunities to reimagine how trade moves from Asia to Africa and Latin America multiply. It is a win-win for business as they join a network of fast-growing mega-hubs around the world which, in turn, will help boost their trade flows.” As a trade enhancing policy initiative, the WLP is closely aligned …

The temperature-controlled supply chain facility for international cargo at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) has received a fillip with the introduction of Envirotainer, a world leader in active cold-chain solutions for air cargo. BLR Airport is now the fourth airport in the country and second in South India to partner with Envirotainer. This enables pharmaceutical companies and their logistics partners to move temperature-sensitive cargo across the world, while maintaining the integrity and quality of products throughout journey. This essentially means that temperature is maintained throughout to create an unbroken cold chain from manufacturing to the point of consumption. Backed by two dedicated cold zones, operated by Air India SATS Airport Services (AI-SATS) and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore (MABB), the new cold-chain solution will boost the movement of pharmaceutical products from major manufacturing clusters such as Hyderabad, Goa, Vishakhapatnam and other places in South India. Pharmaceutical products account for 13 per cent of the total international cargo throughput from BLR Airport each year, with USA, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Vietnam, Philippines, Germany, Nigeria, Algeria, Uganda and Russia being the top destinations. AI-SATS will provide the handling and storing services for Envirotainer.

Owing to the pandemic 15 per cent of Indian startups were forced to extinction. At a time like this, the Finance Minister’s decision to extend the tax holiday for one more year comes as positive news. With regards to the logistics industry, infrastructure development will continue to be a critical factor. The decision to award national highway projects to the tune of 8,500 km by March 2022 and complete an additional 11,000 km of National Highway Corridor, will improve logistics operations in tier 2 and 3 cities where online deliveries are picking up pace. It will also boost the capacity of our existing highways and help businesses optimize transportation costs. Besides, the announcement of allocating Rs 1,10,055 crore to our railways that form the core of most infrastructure development initiatives and growth of an economy is quite welcoming. The amount will empower Indian Railways to become future proof and make intermodal transportation efficient and scalable. I am hopeful that the proposal for the Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors by June 2022 quickly translates to implementation to improve mobilization of our financial resources.”

“It is very encouraging to see India’s infrastructure getting a big boost in Budget 2021. With the allocation of Rs1,70,000 crore for transport infrastructure and the move of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to build 60,000 km of highways in the next five years, including 2,500 km of express highways is a welcoming news as it will positively impact freight movement. With the allocation of Rs103 lakh crore across 65 projects including logistics and warehousing- the industry is going to get a major boost this year as well. We also expected the government to introduce technological mandates for logistics networks as this would spur the use of technology in every pocket of the industry and make it more equipped to meet the current demands and future challenges,” says Alok Sharma, CEO and Co-founder, NebulARC.

According to Abhik Mitra, MD and CEO, SpotOn Logistics, “The government’s dedicated effort towards allocating the highest ever CAPEX of 1.08 trillion to the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways are highly appreciative. We are glad that the government is further augmenting road infrastructure and planning new avenues for more economic corridors. With more than 13,000 km of roads awarded under Bharat Mala project and an addition of 11,000 km NH corridor by March 2022, it is going to strengthen the physical infrastructure sector and bring ground-breaking transformation in the logistics sector.” “We also expected the government to bring fuel under the purview of GST which would have transformed the Indian logistics sector. Moving forward, we hope that the government will lay more focus on the increasing use of digital technologies and automation,” he adds.

Showing signs of revival in the economic activity, India’s merchandise exports rose for the second consecutive month in January, while the trade deficit narrowed during the same period. India’s merchandise exports rose 5.37 per cent on a year-on-year basis to $27.24 billion in January 2021, from $25.85 billion in the same period last year driven by growth in pharmaceuticals, iron ore and engineering sectors. Commenting on the exports growth, Mohit Singla, Founder Chairman, TPCI said, “India’s merchandise exports growth for the month of January 2021, shows that India’s trade has been on the path of quick recovery. Exports have grown from marginal 0.1 per cent last month to more than 5 per cent in January 2021. This clearly shows that the global trade flow has been streamlining fast and bottlenecks owing to the pandemic are easing out gradually. Also, it is a reflection that Indian products have been sustaining its global demand despite challenges and resilience efforts of our exporters have started bearing fruits again.” Good news is India’s merchandise imports have also started picking up and have come in positive depicting 2.05% increase, reflecting revival in the demand pick and churning up of manufacturing which was quite low few months back. This has also led to the closing of the trade gap by 3.57%, compared to last year same period, he added. Among the top 5 commodity groups of export which recorded positive growth during January 2021 are: Other Cereals (313.88%), Oil meals (253.06%), Iron Ore (108.66%), Cereal preparations and miscellaneous processed items (43.62%), and Jute manufacturing including floor covering (27.64%). This shows that, the agriculture and processed food industry are the engine of this demand driven growth and …

TOWER Cold Chain Solutions has entered into an exclusive partnership with SpiceJet and EFL India. The alliance will apply a seamless, multi-skilled approach to pharmaceutical and vaccine deliveries across India and the sub-continent. Senthil Shanmugam, CEO, EFL Global & Managing Director, EFL India, says, “The containers we chose are obviously of the upmost importance for this expansion and operation as we need to know that they are not only reliable but they are robust and reusable. After long consideration and market analysis we chose TOWER above all others for the flexibility and reliability they bring. To have a partner we can rely on like TOWER allows us to push forward with confidence and ensure we deliver compliant vaccines and save as many people lives as possible.” SpiceJet will provide narrow and wide-bodied aircraft to carry TOWER containers and Covid-19 vaccines across India. With over 90 aircraft, SpiceJet will look at distributing across 63 domestic airports and 11 international airports to ensure the supply chain and distribution objectives are met. Sanjiv Gupta, CEO, SpiceJet Cargo, comments, “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought forth the fact that Indian cold-chain infrastructure for pharmaceutical products is rudimentary and will take time to evolve. The tripartite agreement signed between SpiceXpress, Expo-Freight and TOWER, envisages to provide the pharma companies a speedy and reliable end-to-end cold-chain logistics solution. This strategic partnership is believed to lay a strong foundation for cold-chain infrastructure not only in India, but overseas too.”

CEVA Logistics has further expanded its reach in South East Asia with the opening of a new warehouse located in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province in Vietnam. Strategically located to the north east of Ho Chi Minh City, this new facility has a range of convenient connections to the Eastern Economic Zone as well as the city. The new facility will support customers’ storage and distribution needs including value-added services across various industries. CEVA Logistics’ multi-user distribution centre spans 10,000m² and is designed to provide storage and fulfillment solutions with value-added services such as co-packing, labelling, kitting and consolidation services for B2B and B2C distribution across Vietnam. The facility will act as CEVA Logistics’ main hub for south and central Vietnam, leveraging CEVA Logistics’ in-house warehouse management system capabilities and suite of solutions supporting global and local customers in a fast-growing environment. Elaine Low, CEVA Logistics’ Regional Managing Director South East Asia & Pacific Region, says, “This new facility allows us to continue to expand our capabilities in support of our customers’ growth in Vietnam complementing our air, ocean and ground services. It will provide customers with additional storage and various services to meet their rapidly expanding supply chain needs in the country. Its strategic location means customers will also be able to take advantage of new transport infrastructure coming to the region as economic growth gathers further momentum.”