At 4:18 on June 15, after a series of procedures such as security checks, declarations and permits, 3,000 kilograms of live Qianjiang crayfish boarded a special cargo flight from Ezhou to Shenyang. This marks the opening of another crayfish air route at Ezhou Huahu International Airport.
Hubei specialty Qianjiang crayfish are fat in tail and strong in body with white gill filaments, serving as national geographical indications for agricultural products. Crayfish are favored by diners all over the country because of its delicious meat and edible ratio of more than 25% . Last March, crayfish took off from the Huahu International Airport for the first time to Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in Schuan Province, thus opening the era of air cargo in shipping Ezhou agricultural products. Up to now, crayfish have been airlifted to cities such as Chengdu, Qingdao and other cities through Huahu International Airport, reaching a total volume of more than 150 tons shipped.
In May this year, Hubei Agricultural Development Group cooperated with Huahu International Airport and Shunfeng Airlines in Ezhou to pilot the development of crayfish air cargo service at Huahu International Airport, developing a complete set of logistics plan “Qianjiang → Ezhou → Shenyang → Market”. Crayfish were salvaged from the previous afternoon to the next day and served on the table within 24 hours.It takes no more than 24 hours from the time crayfish are salvaged the afternoon before to the time they are served on the table the next day.
“Crayfish has a high market share in the Northeast and Northwest China. Previously, crayfish are sold to Shenyang mainly by land transport and it takes about 3 days to deliver such a long distance. Through air transportation, travel time can be reduced to 5-6 hours, which greatly saves time. The freshness and survival rate of the crayfish are guaranteed,” said Liu Shuqiong, Chairman of Hubei Crayfish Holding Group Co. , Ltd. After the opening of the“air outlet” for agricultural products, hairy crabs, eel, lotus root and other agricultural products in Hubei province will “fly” from Huahu International Airport to the whole country and even the whole world.
It is understood that in the near future, Huahu International Airport will have several tons of crayfish shipped to Shenyang every day. When the subsequent operation becomes mature and stable, the Airport will successively open Dalian, Harbin, Changchun and other cities in the air transportation routes of crayfish.