Singapore is set to benefit this year from its status as one of Asia’s leading transport hubs, as demand from key markets in the West boosts trade.

Singapore Changi Airport handled 145,600 metric tons of cargo in April, dropping 1.8 percent compared with April 2012.

Changi Airport Group, manager and operator of Singapore Changi Airport, will increase air cargo rebates in the face of continuing air freight headwinds, the company said in a written statement.

Singapore Changi Airport recorded a 4.5 percent year-over-year contraction in cargo traffic last month despite a 4.6 percent increase in traffic movements.

Singapore’s Changi Airport saw cargo volumes contract by 2.8 percent year-over-year last month.

Despite a dip in cargo movements to and from Europe and South Asia, Singapore’s Changi Airport saw freight volumes remain stable last month.

The operating company that runs Singapore Changi Airport says it earned a $278 million profit in the fiscal year ending in March, helped by a 13 percent gain in revenue that was pumped up by a growing

Singapore Changi Airport reported an 11 percent increase in freight tonnage in 2010 over the previous year. That still left cargo volume at the major Asia gateway behind pre-recession levels.