New plan to exploit air cargo capacity

Most Rwandan exporters have not been able to capitalise on the burgeoning cargo space courtesy of increased activity in the country’s aviation industry. Since January this year, Rwanda has registered three new passenger airlines and one cargo airline but demand for cargo space by traders is still small with Private Sector Federation (PSF) attributing it to lack of awareness. Traders say cargo flights are expensive.The Private Sector Federation and the National Agriculture Export Promotion Board targets farmers’ cooperatives to boost production and ensure sustainability in the supply chain.Hannington Namara, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PSF said it is important to group business operators in different clusters into an association for meaningful advocacy.PSF intends to use the Business Development Centres to sensitise producers and exporters, especially those dealing in perishable goods, on available opportunities if they form associations and explore ways of benefiting from the air cargo service.Traders, particularly those dealing in perishable goods have always complained about the absence of direct cargo flights to the Middle East, saying this contributes to high transport costs.SN Brussels and Kenya Airways, which do not have specific commercial cargo planes, have two to three tonnes of cargo space depending on the number of passengers and charge about €2 per kilogramme.“In the airline business, cargo prices are never fixed but it is determined by the quantity and consistency of the supplier,” Ndambe Nzaramba, the Deputy Director General in Rwanda Agriculture Board, pointed out.He said government is willing to provide farmers with technical skills like quality management system, proper storage mechanisms, and hygiene requirements during and after harvesting of fresh produce, packing and handling.“There is a need for the private sector to play the central role by coordinating producers and exporters. We always attend to individuals and we can not reach out to all,” he said.Coffee and tea associations have previously been successful and there is optimism that the same idea could be replicated among producers of French beans, snow peas, eggplants, cassava leaves, carrots, cabbage, pepper and chilli.Gerald Ruzigana from East Africa Charter Freight support termed Rwandan cargo exporters as disorganised, lamenting that cargo aircraft always finds it hard to operate the service.“Aircrafts can not burn fuel unless they are assured of getting cargo which is at least half of the airline capacity,” he said.Martinair, which is the biggest cargo airline operating in the country with a capacity of 110 metric tonnes, is said to land with Rwandan cargo but flies back almost empty. “Outgoing cargo is mainly got from Kenya and this discourages other airlines that don’t operate on the route until they are called upon when there is cargo.”Reports indicate that Emirates airlines Boeing 747 cargo plane with a capacity of 100 tonnes which commenced its operations in Rwanda late last year, used to fly in every Wednesday but it is no longer regular, only choosing to land instead when cargo is available.The recently launched Turkish Airline has a cargo capacity of up to 70 tonnes its management has promised to operate a cargo aircraft if there is market potential.Early this year, a group of local farmers attended a horticultural exhibition in Dubai to share experiences and exchange contacts. They expressed interest to particularly collaborate with Qatar Airways which operates direct flights to Rwanda via Entebbe.

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New plan to exploit air cargo capacity