As a pilot who meets a storm in full flight and must change his course to avoid danger, Martinair Cargo decided to modify its commercial strategy in Argentina and open the game to export traffics. The latter registered a slight growth during the past few months as compared with last year, as a consequence of the devaluation of the local currency vis-à-vis the dollar.

Martinair, which was always identified with imports in Argentina, is now watching the figures in the market and making the decision to change course. In the first eight months of the year, Argentine air imports fell 60% with respect to the same period last year, while exports increased by 1.3%.

Besides, if this sign were still short of a clear meaning, another important change took place in the conditions of the activity. The tariffs for outgoing freights that had been subsidized until last year, so to speak, by the tariffs on those shipments arriving in the country finally took a change for the better. These are the true impulse to airfreight activity in Argentina, given their historic preponderance over exports.

Robert Rozek, Martinair sales director for Argentina, admitted that “traditionally our activity in Argentina was related to the import volumes, but our business is cargo. And if now the most important traffics are exports, we shall have to adapt to them.”

The company, which has just one weekly frequency at present to land in the International Ezeiza Airport, is analyzing the possibility of adding a second flight at the end of the year or in early 2003. “There is still nothing official, but the fact is we are studying it,” they say at the Martinair offices in Buenos Aires.

Alongside all this, the company is including a new machine (an MD11, just like the ones it is flying at present) for its operations in the region.

“At some point, Argentine imports will recover their volume,” said Rozek while talking to AIR MARKET, and at the same time, he underlined that “the exports tariffs have risen and are even more advantageous than before”. Questioned about the possibility of adding another frequency from and to Argentina, the official was optimistic and pointed out, “Argentina is a market with a great deal of potential”.

Roy Linkner, vice-president of sales and marketing for Martinair in all America mentioned that “opportunities are very good,” with respect to the concrete chances that export volumes of Argentine products flying to US and Europe may grow. However, he also pointed out the need “to have access to credit and to straighten out the economic situation” in the country.

The two executives of the Dutch airline came to Buenos Aires to meet with local forwarders, who asked for larger hold space for their exports toward the US. They particularly mentioned New York and Miami, although Mexico and El Paso, Texas were also mentioned. The latter is a very desirable destination for exporters of hides, as a great number of industries engaged in leather processing for the automobile industry are concentrated close to the mentioned Texan location.