Air Cargo Vital In California
Agri Exports
Companies that may be searching
for new markets might begin with reading an excellent study created by
the Center For Agricultural Business at California State University at
Fresno .
The 200 plus page document makes a strong
case and allows both air cargo shippers and planners to get a handle on
both the current market and what lies ahead.
One
point made right away is that California agricultural export is growing,
and somewhat ignored by the air cargo business at large.
“Airborne agricultural export trade
totaled $659.4 million in 2004, a 22 percent increase over the preceding
year and a 42 percent increase over 2002,” the study says.
“Although airborne shipments currently
represent just over six percent of California’s $10.4 billion agricultural
export trade, several highly perishable, high value-added specialty crops,
most notably fresh cherries, strawberries, asparagus and organically raised
fruits and vegetables have become acutely dependent on air transport to
reach overseas markets,” the report continues.
“A much wider variety of fresh produce
is also exported by air, particularly by those seeking to capture the
premium prices that are generally prevalent only during that relatively
brief period before more abundant supplies reach these markets via slower
modes of transport,” the report says.
“California’s agricultural export
trade grew by 40 percent between 1996 and 2004, while its airborne agricultural
exports rose by 67 percent.
“Air transport will likely become
an increasingly attractive alternative to ocean shipping for California
agricultural exporters, especially with respect to those economies with
which the U.S. runs substantial merchandise trade deficits.
“In particular, shipping rates for
airborne cargoes on westbound transpacific routes should become even more
competitive as air carriers add cargo capacity to serve a burgeoning eastbound
trade in U.S. imports from the Far East.
“Even though their near-monopoly over
international air transport in California will gradually diminish, Los
Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport
(SFO) will continue to be California’s primary international gateways
for air cargo, including agricultural shipments.”
After having interviewed the management
of firms’ air exporting California agricultural products, some conclusions
bear additional interest.
All of the high value specialty crop packer-shippers
interviewed in this study deal with seasonal crops. These air freight
shipments start about mid-February with asparagus.
The season for all air freight shipments
concluded about June 30.
The present air freight produce shipment
period is about 4.5 months long.
Surveyed shippers reported marketing shipments
to 13 different countries with most destinations in the Pacific Rim (Japan,
Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Australia).
But several shippers made shipments to the
United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.
The survey found that air cargo costs vary
by destination and other factors.
“For all products included in the
survey, the air freight costs ranged from $.80 to $2.02 per kilogram.
“Highest freight costs were reported for cherries and the lowest
freight costs were for asparagus.”
Generally speaking, the packer-shipper had
the responsibility to get a shipment to the airport in sufficient time
to be put in a cargo container and to clear security checks.
Freight forwarders played a very important
role for all products included in the study.
Essentially, freight forwarders handled
the shipment at the airport to the destination.
All sales made by these packer-shippers
were F.O.B. at the packing house.
“While forwarders are concerned about
transportation costs, real responsibility is to make the air freight deadlines.
“In many cases the foreign buyers
came to the packing facility to make the purchase.
"And,” the survey noted, “some
foreign buyers frequently check the packing operations.”
The report also contains airport-by-airport
facts and figures useful in any aspect of the air cargo business.
Maybe best of all, this work can be easily
downloaded@
http://www.cati.csufresno.edu.
(Geoffrey)
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