DHL Global Forwarding (DHL GF) South Korea has airfreighted more than 1.3m Covid-19 test kits in the first three weeks of April, to Brazil, Ecuador, India, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia.
Tapping into its global network of IATA CEIV-certified life sciences and healthcare (LSH) facilities, DHL GF will also ship test kits to Saudi Arabia in several shipments.
Lauded for its efforts in slowing the spread of Covid-19, South Korea attributed its success to its massive testing campaign with the support of local diagnostic device manufacturers.
South Korea has seen demand from more than 110 countries for its test kits, with analysts in Seoul estimating global demand to come in at about 700,000 a day.
With one of its largest producers of test kits manufacturing 1m units a week, the country is currently one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of Covid-19 test kits.
SP Song, Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding Korea, said: “In addition to test kits, we have also been sending personal protective equipment such as facial masks and protective suits.
“South Korea has also been identified as a key supplier of PPE to India, and these products are equally needed in countries where the virus is still virulent. We are trying to do our part to support the global community and the frontline workers in combating this epidemic.”
The freight forwarder recently launched a dedicated 100-ton weekly air freight service for organizations and governments shipping goods from China to Middle East and Africa, with health and medical-related items, such as PPE, making up the bulk of the volume.
The service will plug the airfreight capacity shortage shippers face with travel restrictions and changing airfreight routes amid Covid-19 developments.
