GUWAHATI: In a development that assumes significance for the farm export from the Northeast, direct custom clearance of air cargo has for the first time being initiated from the LGBI Airport here with a consignment of vegetables exported from here on Sunday.
A consignment of 810kg of vegetables, comprising pointed gourd (locally known as potol), fresh beans, knol khol, cucumber, brinjals and lemons were sent to Dubai via New Delhi on an Air India flight (AI 892) that departed at 7.34pm.
The vegetables have been sourced from various districts of Assam.
Direct custom clearance means that the consignment sent overseas from the airport here will not be checked en route to any airport till the destination. Earlier, air cargo from airports in the Northeast was done at Kolkata airport.
D.K Kamra, regional executive director, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Northeast East Region said that for the first time in history of the region, the direct export mode via air cargo has been initiated by the air cargo department of the LGBI Airport.
“With the Customs-EDI (electronic data interchange) clearance right here at the Guwahati Airport, with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company (an AAI subsidiary) and customs department, the farmers and exporters do not have to go anywhere else. They can now send their products from Guwahati to any part of the globe through Air Cargo here. The facility is available round the clock at the cargo station,” he added.
Phyto sanitary certificate was issued by the plant quarantine department for the first time at the airport here along with the execution of all major clearances.
Sonar Bangla, a Kolkata-based export company, with local exporter Kiega Exim Pvt Ltd, executed the process for export of the consignment.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which is working with various stakeholders to bridge the gap for exports link produce of North East to the international market, has been pursuing with various airlines to charge competitive rates for exports from the region.
Earlier this month, APEDA facilitated the export of two consignments of flat beans, brinjal and radish, sourced from Darrang district in Assam, to Doha and Europe through Guwahati Airport.
Industry sources said such a direct export facility will boost farmers’ income, which is one major initiative of the Centre and department of industry and commence, Assam.
Terming it a significant development, APEDA chairman, Paban Kumar Borthakur, said that direct custom clearance of air cargo will definitely reduce time, cost and handling of the consignments.