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Etihad Cargo reinforces and utilises its cold chain expertise
Etihad leveraging increased demand for perishable exports
Etihad Cargo continues to ship a range of cold chain products around the world and expects to see more growth for the perishables market in the near future. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.
The perishable export market has been growing steadily over the last decade, and it remained robust during the COVID-19 pandemic, bolstered by strong segment demand and the efforts of governments around the world to ensure the continuous supply of perishable products. Etihad Cargo has remained wellpositioned to leverage this increased demand as its transports perishables across its global network.
There are several factors that Etihad Cargo considers when it comes to matching market demand for the shipping of perishables, including regulations, infrastructure and assets – Etihad Cargo’s aircraft, processes and training.
Etihad’s commitment to ensuring it provides world-class services is a reason why it became International Air Transport Association (IATA) Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Fresh-certified in 2019.
IATA CEIV Fresh certification demonstrates the company’s compliance with Perishable Cargo Regulations (PCR), ensuring food safety, reducing waste, reinforcing trust, and enabling the company, in partnership with its customers, to implement best practices across all required cold chain solutions.
IATA CEIV Fresh certification also gives Etihad customers confidence that the company’s commercial activities and operations adhere to the high industry standards and can also trust that Etihad Cargo’s FreshForward product provide a fresh, fast, simple, and efficient features they need from their air cargo partner of choice.
Cold chain solutions are a critical component of the global supply chain structure for several reasons. First, cold chain as a solution is dynamic and presents an opportunity for carriers to fine tune their processes, innovate, test the latest technologies and tools, such as software and active and passive temperature and location devices, and collaborate with the supply chain to improve forecasting, packaging solutions and lead times.
Etihad Cargo works closely with Validaide, a digital platform that collects data to manage full cool chain capabilities and share them with the industry with the click of a button.
Etihad Cargo is also working to enhance tracking and monitoring by utilising a digital twin system.
In the United Arab Emirates, there is a dynamic and active cool chain and supply chain ecosystem, in which regulatory bodies and business entities work together closely with the shared goal of future proofing the industry.
This, in addition to the adoption of new tools and the development of improved technological advancements, is making it easier to transport perishables across longer distances.
Etihad Cargo ships a diverse range of perishable products, including fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood, flowers, meat, chocolate, seeds, plants, eggs and dairy, such as cheese.
The commodity type Etihad ships the most of is fruit and vegetables, which makes up 40 per cent of its total perishables volume. Meat and fish come in second, making up close to one-third of Etihad’s total volume.
The regions in which Etihad Cargo operates also has an impact on the volume of products it transports. For example, the company has a footprint in Europe
and Africa, so it ships a lot of flowers.
Etihad carried more than 6,400 tonnes of flowers in 2021, making this product its fourth-highest ranked in terms of volume.
However, Etihad’s main trade lanes originate from North and South Asia and India, into the Middle East and Europe. Its routes also address the demand in the Middle East and Asia for goods that originate from Europe and Africa.
Meanwhile, one of Etihad Cargo’s top perishables markets is India.
In 2021, Indian fresh exports ranked as our fourth-largest market and increased shipping volumes by more than 40 per cent.
Demand for India’s exports is predominantly driven by fruits and vegetables, including baby corn, pomegranate and coconut chunks – this product group makes up two-thirds of all exports from India transported by the company.
Etihad Cargo usually exports those commodities into Europe and the United Kingdom at temperatures between 2-8 degrees, followed by some countries in the Middle East. Demand for Indian mangoes is fully driven by UK markets, and they are Etihad Cargo’s second most popular commodity shipped from India, making up 10-14 per cent of all perishable goods out that country.
Globally, Etihad Cargo usually exports between 3,800-4,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables every year.
When it comes to the historical challenges associated with transporting perishables, environmental temperature and time
will always be critical factors.
Another fundamental challenge comes at the time of handover – from the customer to the airline – when the airline has several processes to complete. This includes acceptance of the product and moving it to the cool room, then moving the product from the cool room to the aircraft, and upon arrival at the destination then moving the perishables from the aircraft to the cool room or sending it directly out for delivery to the consignee.
There are several steps where everything must be managed to the minute, and that is why Etihad
Etihad Cargo’s cool chain manager, Fabrice Panza, has overseen the company’s growth in recent years.
Etihad Cargo is seeing first hand the growth of the perishable logistics market.
Cargo constantly monitors lead times and uses specialised thermal covers to mitigate the environmental conditions outside the cool room and aircraft hold.
Etihad Cargo invests in training, as highly trained staff are essential to maintaining quality throughout the entire perishables’ journey.
In a few months, Etihad Cargo will open a new cool chain centre located next to its current warehouse.
The facility will double Etihad Cargo’s cool chain capacity and capabilities.
While manufacturing is not currently one of the company’s activities, warehousing, monitoring and cross-docking with specific cool chain equipment are.
The company foresees a number of positive impacts resulting from the opening of its new cold chain facility. Not only will the facility expand Etihad Cargo’s capabilities for pharmaceutical flows but also for perishables flows.
Etihad Cargo also has a groundhandling team managed by Etihad Airport Services, who are fully trained and skilled in handling perishables and pharmaceutical products as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible in compliance with all regulations.
Etihad Cargo’s new cold chain facility will also enhance its FreshForward product offering and will benefit the perishables community with increased capacity, as well as providing a smoother transfer to the company’s FreshForward trucks when the products need to be delivered in the UAE, or handed over to the consignee at Abu Dhabi Airport.
According to a Research and Markets report, the global food logistics market is projected to reach around AUS$215 billion by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 8.3 per cent during the 2019-2024 period.
Air cargo is an essential logistics component of the food industry, and while we expect to see a continuous increase in perishables, and Etihad Cargo also foresees diversification in commodity types being transported.
The increasing size and importance of e-commerce in consumers’ daily lives is a key indicator that there is going to be a shift in product requirements soon.
There is also a high probability Etihad Cargo will start to see smaller perishables shipments that require express service levels, so providing temperature-controlled environments on a larger scale will play a more significant role in the airlines’ operations.
Meanwhile, the company did not see diminished cargo demand during the pandemic, especially for cold chain products.
However, the opening of international borders and the availability of manpower are critical elements for future increases in supply chain volumes.
One of the most significant challenges at the outset of the pandemic in 2020 was the decrease in air passengers, which had the knock-on effect of reducing routes and networks. However, despite this, Etihad Cargo remained active in the shipment of cargo.
It successfully converted a number of passenger aircraft to become cargo-only and this adaptability and flexibility enabled it to meet the high demand for cargo throughout the pandemic. As a result, the company witnessed a large increase in volumes of its cool chain products – PharmaLife and FreshForward – compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2021, despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Etihad Cargo shipped 14 per cent more perishable products than in 2020, while achieving its best results since the carrier’s launch. F
