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Geneva – South Africa ranks 9th out of the top ten on the latest eFreight Friendliness Index (EFFI) released by the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
According to Iata, a key aspect of the quality of air cargo services relates to the ability to undertake transactions electronically.
Electronic processing of cargo transactions can create time savings, reduce costs and administrative burdens as well as offer possibilities of enhancing the service offering, according to an Iata report on the value of air cargo.
The EFFI measures actual penetration of electronic transactions in air cargo shipments and the logistics chain. It also considers whether customs accepts electronic processing.
The United Arab Emirates came out tops on the EFFI, followed by Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sweden. The Republic of Korea is in 6th place followed by Canada and the Netherlands. The US is in 10th place.
The report also looked at the top ten Air Trade Facilitation Index (ATFI). This looks at the important factors of speed and reliability in the context of air cargo. The index measures actual performance on trade facilitation as well as the existence of a supporting legislative framework.
SA does not feature in the top 10 of this index. Austria came out tops, followed by Slovenia, the Republic of Korea, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Japan, Canada and Denmark.
According to George Anjaparidze, senior economist at Iata, it is estimated that for each 1% improvement in air cargo there will be a 6% increase in trade value terms.
“It is the combination of good air connectivity and good trade facilitation that works the best,” he said at Iata’s Cargo Media Day.
The Iata report concludes that countries that have well developed air cargo connections, combined with good quality customs services and smart borders, are better at integrating into global value chains.
“Increasingly the ability of countries to effectively compete in global trade depends on their ability to source intermediate goods cost-effectively from imports and similarly have the ability to export goods to other countries for use in onward export production processes,” according to the report.
“Air cargo plays a particular role where rapid shipments of components are used to support just-in-time production models for combining and assembling parts.”
* Fin24 is the guest of Iata at its Global Media Day.
