As lockdowns in tea-producing countries gradually ease up, permitting the harvest to resume, logistical hurdles mount as the cost of airfreight, the preferred method of transport early in the season, tripled.
The availability of cargo space on aircraft is greatly limited due to the virtual absence of commercial flights. Overburdened carriers are increasingly tasked with flying far more precious or urgently required goods. In India, the national rail service is shut down and trucking fleets are idle. Containers are piling up at ports, and ships lie at anchor awaiting medical clearances.
Available airfreight on passenger planes in March was down 44% globally compared to the same period in 2019. Dedicated air freighters added more flights, but overall capacity was down by 25% in March, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The cost of air freight from China to the US increased from $3 per kilo in March to $11 per kilo in April and continues to climb.
Paul Golland, owner of P.G. Logistics, a freight-forwarding business in Australia, told the Wall Street Journey that, “You used to get a quote valid for 30 days. Now you’re getting it valid for 24 hours because, tomorrow, the situation may change again.”
“International postal services have been among the hardest hit. Many have reduced or suspended international mail in recent weeks due to a lack of flights,” according to the article. The US Postal Service last week said it would start shipping mail by sea to 10 European countries.
In India, Amazon and Walmart are restricted from making deliveries except for food and medicine, which greatly increased the workload for that nation’s 400,000 postal workers in 150,000 branch offices. About the only service tea vendors can count on is mail delivery. India operates the largest postal service in the world and is rising to the challenge. As the Wall Street Journal reports, “Courier competitors can’t deliver. They depend on commercial flights and trains, which aren’t running, their truck fleets aren’t allowed on their roads, and their employees cannot get to work.”