Air India pilots’ strike hits fruit, vegetable export hard

It’s not only the fliers who are bearing the brunt of Air India pilot’s strike.

Vegetable and fruit, especially mangoes, export is also badly hit with most of the national carrier flights being cancelled very day.
The strike entered the 13th day and there is no sign of let off. “This is a crucial period for farmers who grow mangoes to earn an extra buck by exporting mango and other fruits. The on-going strike has badly affected the export activities,” said Sanjay Pansare, director of Agriculture Product Market Committee (APMC).

The other airlines are cashing in on the imbroglio and have started charging 40% to 50% extra for the cargo, leading to escalating prices of mango sent abroad.

APMC gets around 80,000 of boxes of mango every day from across the country. Out of those, around 40% are exported to the Gulf, US, Europe, German, and Toronto. “We load several consignments of mangoes, but Air India flights get cancelled and the fruit cargo is left at the airport. We have lost Rs25 crore to Rs30 crore in the last few days,” said an export, requesting anonymity.

He lamented that he was losing business although this was the peak season to export mangoes. “We had managed to arrange to get two British airlines freighters to export mangoes and vegetables. But at the eleventh hour, Air India told us that they do not have the ground staff to handle freighters. The strike and wrong government policies are harming the business,” he said.

Another exporter said that once the flight is cancelled, there are slim chances of loading it on another flight. “So, we have to again download the goods and bring them back to the market and sell it in whatever price we get. Most fruits and vegetables get damaged and spoiled while loading and uploading from one place to another place,” said Pansare.

TK Swaminathan, spokesperson of Air India, admitted that there was a problem exporting fruits and vegetables. “Efforts are being made to resolve the issue,” he added.