newstodate.aero
Jan 06, 2017 (newstodate): Given the sensitivity of the commodity, air transportation is a logical solution to Norwegian exporters of king crabs to Asia.
Air logistics, however, continue to pose problems due to issues of aviation policies.
-As the year 2016 ended, the temporary six-month permission for us to operate the direct freighter flights from Lakselv to Seoul, in South Korean, also expired and we are again left in a void, says Bjorn Ronald Olsen, Cape Fish CEO.
North Cape in 2016 generated some 40 percent of the country's exports of king crabs to Asian markets via Seoul and has been behind the freighter flights from Lakselv Banak Airport to Seoul, South Korea since January 14, 2016, halted during a long period due to political constraints.
A resumption of a direct freighter service through Russia's airspace will however hinge on a positive outcome from the joint aviation talks between Russia and the Scandinavian countries to open up for a liberalization to allow for more operators from both sides.
The coming next round of talks, with the Norwegian negotiators at one end of the table representing all three Scandinavian countries, will take place in February 2017.
-In the meantime we are now again forced to make long detours to reach our Asian markets by air, says Mr Olsen.
-First we have to truck the crabs over long road distances into either Oslo Gardermoen or Helsinki Airport for uplift, and then we have to keep the crabs in water tanks for some days at our facility in Seoul before flying the shipments onward to the various Asian marketplaces.
-All this translates into higher risk, more costs and reduced shelf-life at the end of the chain.
-Given its magnitude, Norway's seafood exports should have its own voice. I would really prefer that we could negotiate with the Russians directly to land a better solution in a shorter time, says Mr Olsen.
Air logistics, however, continue to pose problems due to issues of aviation policies.
-As the year 2016 ended, the temporary six-month permission for us to operate the direct freighter flights from Lakselv to Seoul, in South Korean, also expired and we are again left in a void, says Bjorn Ronald Olsen, Cape Fish CEO.
North Cape in 2016 generated some 40 percent of the country's exports of king crabs to Asian markets via Seoul and has been behind the freighter flights from Lakselv Banak Airport to Seoul, South Korea since January 14, 2016, halted during a long period due to political constraints.
A resumption of a direct freighter service through Russia's airspace will however hinge on a positive outcome from the joint aviation talks between Russia and the Scandinavian countries to open up for a liberalization to allow for more operators from both sides.
The coming next round of talks, with the Norwegian negotiators at one end of the table representing all three Scandinavian countries, will take place in February 2017.
-In the meantime we are now again forced to make long detours to reach our Asian markets by air, says Mr Olsen.
-First we have to truck the crabs over long road distances into either Oslo Gardermoen or Helsinki Airport for uplift, and then we have to keep the crabs in water tanks for some days at our facility in Seoul before flying the shipments onward to the various Asian marketplaces.
-All this translates into higher risk, more costs and reduced shelf-life at the end of the chain.
-Given its magnitude, Norway's seafood exports should have its own voice. I would really prefer that we could negotiate with the Russians directly to land a better solution in a shorter time, says Mr Olsen.