Emirates Airlines opens new frontier for horticulture industry

Promotion Council chief executive Mr Basilio Sandamu yesterday said the arrival of Emirates Airlines assured producers of a reliable transport system, adding that the industry should make in-roads into the Emirate states that thrive on revenue from oil.
“The logistics side of things has already been taken care of by the coming in of Emirates and what now remains is to establish the payment terms and once that is done there is no reason for us not to explore the opportunities there,” said Mr Sandamu.
He said contrary to claims by some producers that the suspension of regional flights by Air Zimbabwe had disrupted operations in the industry, the sector had been relying on contracting flights to international markets for many years.
“Air Zimbabwe has never been there for us as it is largely a commercial and passenger airliner,” said Mr Sandamu.
“Most of our regional markets are served by roads. Vegetables, for instance, are bulky and therefore weighty so it is costly to transport them by air so we truck them to countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Zambia.”
He said the industry used 60 flights per week to London alone besides other European destinations so Air Zimbabwe had traditionally not been there for them.
Mr Sandamu said high value per unit weight products, such as flowers, formed most of their air cargo since they had the capacity to generate enough revenue to meet their transport costs.
“Sometimes we even truck flowers to South Africa, as the weekly flights are not enough. From South Africa the flowers can either be flown to other markets or absorbed there,” he explained.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union president Mr Donald Khumalo said the coming in of new airlines will end the sector’s frustration over the lack of external markets.
“The majority of horticulture farmers are now producing just out of passion and not for serious business. They are selling their produce to countries such as Botswana and South Africa, where they transport by road
“At the moment the industry is operating at less than 20 percent, something that is disastrous to the economy,” said Mr Khumalo.
He, however, said the coming in of new airlines could easily change the fortunes of the sector if the players took advantage of the opening.
“This is an opportunity to resuscitate the horticulture sector. It may also bring leverage to many producers by opening up gaps for more exports,” he said.
He added that local producers should also take advantage of disasters happening elsewhere in the world to produce enough and explore the markets created by the catastrophes.
Horticulture, said Mr Khumalo, is one of the country’s top earners alongside tobacco, cotton and sugar cane.
Emirates Airlines started flying into the country early this month. The airline will ply the Dubai-Lusaka-Harare route every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Emirates Airlines becomes the first passenger airline from the Middle East to land in Zimbabwe after its cargo arm operated briefly to Harare sometime in 2004. Emirates is one of the world’s fastest growing airlines and flies to 22 destinations in Africa.
It will connect Zambia and Zimbabwe to key European markets, the Far East, Australia and the Indian sub-continent.
The airline will link Harare to the global market and offer support to key export destinations.
The Dubai-Harare route is expected to support the import and export of a diverse range of commodities including machinery, textiles, clothing, electronics and pharmaceuticals.
Exports from Zimbabwe will include vegetables, fresh fruits and flowers while minerals such as platinum and diamonds will be destined for European and Indian markets.