Page 6 - Logistics News - March_April 2023

T H OU GHT L E A D E R SHIP

Air cargo helping drive

local economic recovery

By Taarek Hinedi, VP FedEx Express Middle East and Africa operations

Evolving consumer behaviour and market trends have seen air cargo helping to
drive South African economic recovery.

ir cargo became a lifeline for the South African retail space, and at the end of 2021, e-commerce accounted
government and economy when COVID-19 for 14 percent of total card payment sales.
Aplaced consumers into lockdown. When ports
were at a standstill, road freight was forced to slow down E-commerce presented the opportunity for small and
and with only essential services allowed on the road, air medium-sized companies to reach new consumers and
cargo remained a safe, practical and efficient means of Statista confirms that this trend is continuing as the African
keeping global consumers and markets connected. e-commerce industry is expected to increase to US$42.3
billion in 2024 and generate US$46.1 billion in annual
According to the International Air Transport revenue by 2025.
Association, globally air cargo has played a key role in the
smooth transportation and distribution of emergency relief With more small and medium-sized businesses
packages and essentials such as vaccines and medical test establishing an online presence to keep existing customers or
kits thanks to its well-established, temperature-sensitive to make the most of attracting new customers, the air cargo
distribution systems and cutting-edge technology. industry has become an efficient solution for e-commerce
companies to match the demands of delivering goods in the
Today, as markets have started heading towards stability, fastest way.
the consumer behaviours and market trends seen during the
pandemic continue to take the South African economy along Increased need for trade facilitation to boost economic
the road to recovery, all thanks to the air cargo industry that development
has opened doors of global opportunities for many small and Trade facilitation measures (simplification, modernisation,
medium-sized businesses. synchronisation) of export and import processes will play a
key role in helping countries to build back economies.
Increased online shopping preference and growth of
e-commerce While air cargo is a key global trade facilitator that
Consumers’ preferences for online shopping during the contributes to economic development by transporting
pandemic took e-commerce to new heights. Mastercard’s more than US$6 trillion worth of goods annually,
2020 study on consumer spending found that 68 percent of accounting for approximately 35 percent of world trade
L O GI S T I CS NEWS than prior to the pandemic. frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade
by value, this alone is not enough. Economic reforms and
South Africans were spending more time shopping online
Area (AfCFTA) should seize the opportunity to remove
trade barriers, especially for small and medium-sized
Data from First National Bank Merchant Services
highlighted that before the pandemic, e-commerce
businesses in order to promote economic development
accounted for 8 percent of total card payments spent in the

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