The city airport has recorded a 40% growth in international cargo services in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in the previous year. Domestic cargo too has seen a steady growth of 20%.
Officials with the cargo department say a growing number of clients have been opting for the services as they have created more infrastructure to handle both perishable and non-perishable cargo.
Between April and June this year, around 1,406 tonnes of cargo were booked and sent abroad from the city airport, against 1,002 tonnes in the same period last year. During the period, the airport handled 3,390 tonnes of domestic cargo, registering a growth of 20% from 2,846 tonnes in the previous year.
Officials attribute the growth to the increase in both perishable and non-perishable cargo. “We are seeing a general increase in the amount of goods being sent by cargo services and through Coimbatore,” said airport director N Mahalingam. “There is an increase in the quantity of flowers, vegetables and fruits being sent abroad. Also, the amount of engineering goods, including machinery and spare parts, and garments too have increased.”
Almost 50% of both the domestic and the international cargo are perishable goods, while machinery and engineering goods form another 30% and garments and textiles, 15%. The remaining cargo constitute non-perishable foods, couriers, pets, dangerous or radioactive goods and valuable cargo like jewellery. “Earlier, these sectors used to send their cargo by directly booking them at Chennai or via sea. This trend seems to be changing in a big way,” said a cargo department official.
Officials say the gradual growth in cargo handling has pushed them to improve their infrastructure and marketing. “We have added four embedded weighing scales to the existing nine with a three-tonne capacity, so the time taken for weighing is much lesser. We also have two specific weighing scales for valuable cargo. To say, we have streamlined our operations,” the official said, adding, “More importantly, we have created a separate domestic cargo building. So, inbound and outbound goods have one point of contact and there is no chance of it getting mixed.”
The cargo department is also meeting more cargo agencies and companies to find out what the industry expects from them.
