Is the air-freight demand for perishables declining? Yes, feel many exporters of perishables. For example, a major Israeli exporter has been quoted in Aircargo Asia Pacific as saying his company’s reliance on shipments by air has declined by around 60 per cent in the past few years, from 80,000 tonnes to around 25-30,000 tonnes. At the same time, ocean-going carriers are reporting a surge in demand for refrigerated containers at an estimated increase of four to five per cent annually. Several factors are believed to be responsible for such a switchover, including new technologies in cold storage on board, better maintained vessels, improved shipboard temperature and humidity control and, as a cumulative effect of all these, lower costs vis-À-vis the high air-freight cost.