newstodate.aero
Mar 04, 2016 (newstodate): There is more to Norway's voluminous exports of seafood than just salmon. King crabs, not least..
The high value of the king crabs and the rising demand in many Asian markets makes air transportation the sole alternative to reach the shelves with provisions of fresh crabs.
Earlier, the country's leading exporter of fresh king crabs, Cape Fish chose to ship the crabs by truck or by an AN-12 freighter to Oslo Airport for onward carriage on scheduled carriers.
With the first flight on January 14, 2016, the company has instead turned to direct freighter flights from Lakselv Banak Airport to Seoul, South Korea, using a chartered TU-204C aircraft from the Russian carrier Aviastar in an operation managed by the Norwegian freight forwarder Air Cargo Logistics.
-Depending on weather conditions and holiday seasons, we plan to operate at least one weekly flight directly from Lakselv to South Korea, with onward connections to Asian end markets including China and Japan, but also to a number of rising markets such as India, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Malaysia, says Bjorn Ronald Olsen, Cape Fish CEO.
-The TU-204 freighter will lift some 24-25 tonnes of king crabs plus package and ice, and while a direct flight to South Korea and beyond is of course not exactly a cheap mode of transportation, the extra cost is fairly outbalanced by the reduction in total transportation time securing longer shelf life, and also a reduced death rate among the live crabs from around 10 to only one or two percent in the case of the direct Asian flight.
-The king crab export season runs from April till the end of the year. In 2014, the total volume of live king crab exports from Norway were around 600 tonnes, 2015 saw a slight decline to some 550 tonnes. We now expect volumes in 2016 to go up to 8-900 tonnes, with potentials for further increases in the years ahead.
-I see no limitations in Norway's technical ability to grow with the market demand. I am more concerned with the issue of environmental and other restrictions as so many people and parties are eager to air views, says Mr Olsen.
The high value of the king crabs and the rising demand in many Asian markets makes air transportation the sole alternative to reach the shelves with provisions of fresh crabs.
Earlier, the country's leading exporter of fresh king crabs, Cape Fish chose to ship the crabs by truck or by an AN-12 freighter to Oslo Airport for onward carriage on scheduled carriers.
With the first flight on January 14, 2016, the company has instead turned to direct freighter flights from Lakselv Banak Airport to Seoul, South Korea, using a chartered TU-204C aircraft from the Russian carrier Aviastar in an operation managed by the Norwegian freight forwarder Air Cargo Logistics.
-Depending on weather conditions and holiday seasons, we plan to operate at least one weekly flight directly from Lakselv to South Korea, with onward connections to Asian end markets including China and Japan, but also to a number of rising markets such as India, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Malaysia, says Bjorn Ronald Olsen, Cape Fish CEO.
-The TU-204 freighter will lift some 24-25 tonnes of king crabs plus package and ice, and while a direct flight to South Korea and beyond is of course not exactly a cheap mode of transportation, the extra cost is fairly outbalanced by the reduction in total transportation time securing longer shelf life, and also a reduced death rate among the live crabs from around 10 to only one or two percent in the case of the direct Asian flight.
-The king crab export season runs from April till the end of the year. In 2014, the total volume of live king crab exports from Norway were around 600 tonnes, 2015 saw a slight decline to some 550 tonnes. We now expect volumes in 2016 to go up to 8-900 tonnes, with potentials for further increases in the years ahead.
-I see no limitations in Norway's technical ability to grow with the market demand. I am more concerned with the issue of environmental and other restrictions as so many people and parties are eager to air views, says Mr Olsen.