Veggie exports await Amritsar-London flight

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 25

Exports of perishables such as baby corn, snow peas, sugar snap, okra and other vegetables from Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh to Europe continue to suffer despite Air India increasing flight frequency from Amritsar to the UK. The national carrier is currently operating thrice a week from the Amritsar airport.

Recently, the airline has started one more flight to the European destination on every Saturday. It had started twice a week Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham flight from February 2 this year.

The agri-export community of the region says that Air India's decision to increase the Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham flight is of little help. Exporters have been demanding a direct flight between Amritsar and London to deliver fresh product at a competitive rate.

Farmers say that Birmingham is not the ideal destination for the exports of perishables. "Exporters, not only from the Majha (a region of Punjab) but also from adjoining states of Himachal and J&K are disappointed by Air India's decision to increase flight frequency to Birmingham as they wanted a direct flight to London," said Kuljit Singh, a farmer from Mahal village.

The AI had pressed a Boeing 777 on this route with a perishable cargo capacity of 24 tonnes. So, there is required infrastructure, but absence of ideal destination is the main stumbling block.  

Currently, exports of perishables from the region to England through the airport are almost negligible, said Amritsar Airport Director Manoj Chansoria.

In absence of direct flight to London, farmers are compelled to export their produce from New Delhi. "It is faster, cheaper and easier to transport fresh vegetables from Himachal and Punjab to Amritsar. It is, however, expensive and it takes longer time to export these produce from Delhi," said Namdhari Seeds Manager Gurcharan Singh. The company is an exporter of perishables from Punjab.

"We need direct flight exactly to London to save our produce from unnecessary loading, unloading and multiple handling to maintain its quality," he added.

Ever since Jet Airways had discontinued its direct flight to London about eight years ago for commercial reasons, farmers of the region are losing competitive advantage. In order to cater to exports of perishable to Europe, Jet had also created a perishable cargo facility at the Amritsar airport. The region, which had started exporting over 100 tonnes of fresh vegetables in 2006-07 from the Amritsar airport, had seen the quantity jumping to 908 tonnes in just three years. But, exports of perishables have been badly hit after Jet Airways and Air India discontinued their flights between Amritsar and London.

Although public sector Air India had quickly filled the vacuum created by Jet Airways with its Amritsar-London-Toronto flight, it also pulled out from the route from October 30, 2010. Due to the problem of air connectivity, farmers of the region are facing tough competition from Thailand, Kenya and Guatemala in the London market.