Ethiopian Airlines said in August 2019 it was ready to carry Tanzanian perishable horticultural exports to overseas markets through its Addis Ababa cargo hub, The Citizen reported from Arusha.
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777 freighter, ET-APS, at Brussels Airport, March 2019 (kitmasterbloke / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0) [file photo]
Fitsmit Dejene, the airline's sales manager for Arusha and Kilimanjaro, told the Tanzanian daily that Ethiopian Cargo could connect exporters directly with buyers abroad. That would cut the need to truck produce from northern Tanzania to Nairobi for freighters to Europe.
She said the upgraded Bole International Airport hub gave Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services one of Africa's largest transshipment terminals, with 12 freighters, more than 44 cargo destinations and capacity to lift 400 tonnes a day. The terminal could handle one million tonnes a year and already served Ethiopia's $230 million horticulture industry.
Tanzania's horticultural exports, mainly cut flowers, green beans, fruits, seeds and spices, were worth about $750 million a year, The Citizen said. Most were flown to Amsterdam from Kilimanjaro International Airport on a route dominated by KLM. Dejene said Ethiopian could later schedule freighters to Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam.
An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight landed at Kilimanjaro on April 9, 2020, and carried 28 tonnes of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs to Belgium, the Tanzania Horticultural Association said, after the COVID-19 pandemic grounded most passenger flights.
Sources: The Citizen (Tanzania), via Wayback Machine, Africa-Press Tanzania