2.5 lakh banana leaves shipped via chartered flight for expats Onam sadya 

KOZHIKODE: Many of the specialty items needed for the Onam Sadya are exported from Kerala for Malayali expatriates. Normally, these goods are transported in the designated cargo space of passenger flights. However, the number of passenger flights has dropped following the outbreak of conflict in West Asia. A passenger aircraft can carry a maximum of around 1,500 kg of cargo, meaning at least 70 flights would have been needed to transport the entire consignment. Therefore, KNP Exporters have chartered a cargo aircraft.

The company exported a total of 95,000 kg of goods, including banana leaves, fruits and vegetables required for the Onam feast. The consignment was transported from Kochi to Abu Dhabi on Friday evening aboard an Etihad National Air Cargo flight. Since large aircraft are not permitted at Kozhikode International Airport, the shipment was dispatched from Nedumbassery (Cochin International Airport).

The consignment also included 2.5 lakh banana leaves collected from Mettupalayam and Palakkad. The fruits and vegetables were sourced directly in a single day from farms in Palakkad, Wayanad, Vazhakulam, Theni, Nagercoil and Oddanchatram in Tamil Nadu, and Gundlupet in Karnataka. The produce was transported to Kochi in 14 trucks.

‘Cargo flights normally charge more than passenger flights, at around Rs 350 per kilogram. However, against the backdrop of the war, the Abu Dhabi administration had announced a subsidy of Rs 200 per kilogram on cargo flight charges. Meanwhile, the cargo charges on passenger flights, which were earlier around Rs 50 per kilogram, had increased to Rs 150–Rs 200. This was also a factor that prompted to charter a cargo flight,’ said Sufiyan, owner of KNP Exporters.