Caribbean Airlines’ managers meet Guyanese exporters on air cargo improvements.
Regional air carrier Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) is looking to expand its air cargo lift out of Guyana; and is offering, as a promotional incentive to local agricultural exporters, a 15 per cent reduction in freight charges until the end of this year.
But while Guyanese exporters welcome this incentive, there are many concerns about the service, especially as regards handling of perishables such as fresh fruits and vegetables. At a meeting on Wednesday with some of the airline’s top executives, led by Airport Manager Carl Stuart, the exporters boisterously voiced their concerns and related past experiences with CAL’s service.
Convened by the New Guyana Marketing Corporation at the Ministry of Agriculture Boardroom, the meeting involved some of the country’s largest food exporters and investors. These included popular businesspersons like David Fernandes of Bounty Farms Limited, Beni Sankar of the National Aquaculture Association of Guyana, and Deodat Doodnauth, a trader in non-traditional produce.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, who facilitated the meeting, backed the exporters, relating “irritants” such as two to three days’ delays in transit at Port of Spain, limited air cargo space, and handling of claims for damages. He stressed consistency and reliability of service. Despite these issues, the minister recognised the importance of airlift to the country’s current agricultural boom, which is premised on greater exports to the Caribbean and extra regional markets.
While exports of agricultural products, mainly non-traditional commodities, grew by 20 per cent over the previous year, there was a decline in air cargo movement. Most of the exports utilised sea transport.
Speaking of exports to the United States, the minister highlighted that, while only about five of Guyana’s agricultural products could enter Miami, more than 24 could enter New York, where a greater demand lies. Persaud recalled a previous offer made by President Bharrat Jagdeo to approve a licence for CAL to have a direct air cargo service from Guyana to New York. The airline never took up the offer. However, on Wednesday, the minister advised that the opportunity is still there for CAL, and he encouraged the company to consider the offer as part of its renewed interest in air cargo service out of Guyana.
Further, the minister stressed security of the cargo service, to ensure that “people don’t use agricultural export to ship illegal substances, meaning narcotics.” Hence he pointed to the involvement of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU).
In his remarks, CAL’s Stuart explained that the airline is looking to have bigger aircraft with more cargo space come to Guyana, and also at offering an affordable and consistent service for local exporters, eyeing destinations such as Barbados, Antigua, and maybe even Toronto. With this plan, CAL has since been meeting with and noting some of the needs of local exporters to proceed with expansion. “We recognise that you have a product that we need, and we have the routes and service that you need,” Stuart told the exporters. He observed that Guyana is an interesting location that could use its agricultural exports to earn more for the country and its people. Recognising this potential, the Caribbean Airlines official assured that his company wanted to be a part of this effort to help Guyana boost its agricultural export. Initially, the CAL officials present at the meeting informed the exporters of a 15 per cent reduction in air freight for 90 days. However, as the meeting progressed, the officials said the reduction incentive has been expanded to the end of 2011, an announcement met with loud applause.
Nevertheless, the exporters sought clarification on a number of issues regarding the air cargo service. Beni Sankar, an aquaculture investor, asked about timeframe to ensure that his “fresh fish on ice” exports, a competitive commodity with a shelf life of up to 10 days, reach the destination on time. The CAL officials assured of fast transfers for all exports.
Another exporter related delays in Trinidad of five to six hours for exports of fresh fruits and vegetables to New York. There have also been claims of discrimination in Port of Spain, as some Guyanese exporters claimed Trinidadian exporters are given preference over them at that port. However, CAL has assured of an effective, efficient and fair service to all exporters.
Other issues include handling of the perishable goods during security checks. Some exporters also complained about the tardy security checks by the various entities, causing additional hassles for the exporters. CAL’s Cargo Coordinator, Adaceia Figueira, explained that the tight security checks are necessary to guard against the shipment of narcotics. According to her, CAL incurs heavy fines whenever an illegal substance is discovered on flights that enter the United States. After some discussion, it was agreed that the security checks could be better coordinated by the various agencies involved, making it timely for the exporters.
