When the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) convenes its fiftieth convention in Goa from September 25 to 28, it marks far more than an anniversary. It serves as a vital economic barometer for the nation’s trade ambitions.
The chosen theme, ‘Made in India, Moved by India: Building the Logistics Ecosystem for a Trillion-Dollar Trade’, is both, an ambitious goal and a practical roadmap. Examining the underlying economics reveals an industry experiencing unprecedented expansion and poised to become a central engine of India’s growth.
ACAAI’s half-century history illustrates the crucial role played by industry bodies. In international trade, freight forwarders’ associations perform an essential function. They eliminate information gaps, harmonise documentation and resolve coordination challenges among shippers, airlines, ground handlers and customs authorities. By lowering transaction costs across borders, ACAAI has helped build the shared capacity and operational resilience that underpins India’s modern supply chains.
The decision to hold this Golden Jubilee convention in India after 15 years abroad is a powerful signal of market maturity. In economic terms, this reflects a clear preference driven by solid market fundamentals. It confirms that India’s domestic cargo ecosystem has expanded to a point where its internal scale, investment momentum and commercial opportunities command the centre stage of global aviation logistics.
The empirical momentum backing this expansion is remarkable. India’s air cargo sector is significantly outperforming global trend rates. This proves that the national capacity is actively gaining ground in an integrating world market. Between April 2024 and January 2025, international air cargo volumes in India reached nearly 1.93 million tonnes. This posted a year-on-year growth rate exceeding 17%, easily outpacing domestic growth of 6.5%.
By June 2026, monthly throughput hit a record 3,64,289 tonnes. This was a 16% increase year-on-year, driven by a 19% surge in international freight. Major gateways like Bengaluru posted a 17% annual increase, while its international cargo sector expanded by 23%.
While the Asia-Pacific region continues to handle over 40% of world air cargo tonnage, structural realignment is opening extraordinary new opportunities. As global supply chains diversify under manufacturing shifts like the ‘China-Plus-One’ strategy, India has emerged as a premier destination for high-value manufacturing investment alongside peers like Vietnam and Indonesia.
The theme ‘Made in India, Moved by India’ accurately identifies where the true potential of air freight lies: value density. Air transport carries a cost premium over maritime or road freight. Because of this, its economic power is maximised when shipment value relative to weight is high or when time-to-market determines global competitiveness.
India’s specialisation in key high-value export sectors perfectly matches this economic profile: Pharmaceuticals: India accounts for roughly 5-6% of global pharmaceutical trade by volume, generating over twenty-one billion dollars in annual export earnings. Temperature-controlled, time-sensitive medical shipments make air cargo an indispensable strategic necessity.
Perishables and Agricultural Exports: Accounting for 15-20% of air cargo volumes, perishable goods rely entirely on rapid cold-chain air transport to preserve value and access premium international markets.
Electronics and Advanced Components: Rapid expansion in electronics assembly and high-precision manufacturing means speed-to-market is now the primary factor in international competitiveness.
India’s strategy is not merely about moving heavier volumes. It is about mastering the transport of high-value freight where speed creates maximum economic yields.
To fully realise a trillion-dollar trade ecosystem, the focus naturally turns to optimising national logistics efficiency. Over the past decade, India has made extraordinary strides in reducing logistics costs relative to GDP. Historical estimates placed national logistics costs at 13-14% of GDP. Recent assessments reveal that this figure has dropped significantly to between 10.0 and 10.7%. This decline was propelled by cumulative national infrastructure investments totalling approximately 360 billion dollars. Reflecting this structural upgrade, India’s ranking on the World Bank Logistics Performance Index jumped from 54th in 2014 to 38th in 2023.
Unlocking the next wave of efficiency requires balancing the national transport mix. Currently, road haulage carries 60-65% of India’s freight at an average cost of Rs 2.50 to Rs 3 per tonne-kilometre. Rail handles 27-28% at Rs 1.50 to Rs 1.80, and inland waterways account for under 2% at roughly Rs 1. Air freight operates at the absolute top of the supply chain. Enhancing modal connectivity further down the chain, such as linking industrial parks by rail directly to airport cargo terminals, will immediately eliminate lead-time bottlenecks and reduce total landed costs.
To translate current momentum into a long-term competitive advantage, three policy and investment priorities stand out for industry stakeholders and policymakers at the Golden Jubilee convention:
Expanding Gateway Diversity: Major hubs like Delhi and Mumbai handle the lion’s share of international traffic. Expanding secondary gateways, including ongoing developments in Bengaluru and the commissioning of Navi Mumbai International Airport, creates robust regional redundancy and distributes economic growth across multiple hubs.
Seamless Cross-Modal Connectivity: Integrating air cargo facilities directly with high-speed rail corridors and industrial nodes ensures that last-mile feeding costs drop. This accelerates throughput speeds from factory floors to aircraft holds.
Optimised Digital and Customs Clearance: Implementing specialised, single-window digital clearance processes tailored specifically to the rapid timelines of air cargo will convert physical infrastructure gains into world-class turnaround times.
The ACAAI Golden Jubilee Convention in Goa is a celebration of 50 years of institutional excellence. More importantly, it is a launch pad for India’s trade future. With growth rates outstripping global averages, world-class positioning in high-value industries and transformative infrastructure investments taking shape, Indian air cargo stands at the threshold of a golden era.
(Prof (Dr) Manoj S Kamat is Post Doctoral Fellow (Economic Policy)
and PhD (Finance) from IIT Bombay, and serves as Professor and Principal of Dempo Charities Trust’s SS Dempo College of Commerce & Economics at Cujira-Bambolim.)
