Marine freighter service to connect Surat with Chennai & Kolkata from February 26

SURAT: Shrimp farming in south Gujarat is set to get a boost following SpiceJet’s decision to launch first ‘marine krishi udaan’. A direct dedicated freighter service to connect Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Surat and Kolkata has been announced by the airline from February 26.
Official sources said Chennai and Visakhapatnam are major shrimp seed producing centres in India. The shrimp seeds are then sent to West Bengal and Gujarat for farming and breeding.However, shrimp farmers face a lot of problems in transporting these seeds as there are no direct dedicated flights from the production centres to locations of cultivation.
SpiceJet officials stated that the direct dedicated freighter service will be launched from Chennai and Visakhapatnam to Surat and Kolkata from February 26. This will improve logistics and connectivity, thus helping enormously in the growth of shrimp farming.
Gujarat Aqua Feed Dealers’ Association (GAFDA) estimates requirement of 500 crore shrimp seeds per annum in Gujarat, mainly in south Gujarat. Majority of shrimp seeds are sourced from Chennai and Visakhapatnam via Mumbai. It takes about 10 hours for the seeds to reach hatcheries, leading to high mortality rate and losses to farmers.
GAFDA president Manoj Sharma said, “The dedicated freighter service to Surat will pave the way for further development of shrimp farming in south Gujarat. This is a good news for shrimp farming community. The demand for shrimp seeds is increasing and we presume that the airline will have to start additional freighter service to cater to the ever-growing demand.”
Sharma added, “The daily requirement of shrimp seeds in south Gujarat is pegged at one crore. Over 800 farmers cultivate shrimps on 7,000 hectare of land. This is going to be a win-win situation for the farmers.”
Airports Authority of India (AAI) inaugurated domestic cargo terminal at Surat airport on January 29. The cargo terminal built at a cost of Rs13 crore is designed to handle all types of cargo, including agriculture, floriculture, valuables, marine, hazardous etc.