Out with the old, in with the teu?
With the big box lines continuing to influence the movement of perishable goods, how are conventional reefership operators rising to the challenge?
IN February, Germany’s capital once again played host to the world’s largest fruit trade fair Fruit Logistica at the colossal Messe Berlin in the west of the city. The annual event attracts more than 60,000 visitors to its seemingly endless halls over three days, with nearly 3,000 exhibitors from across the fruit and vegetable supply chain.
The fresh fruit and vegetable industry is big business. The sheer scale of Fruit Logistica is testament to that. In 2014, approximately 1.8bn tonnes of fruit and vegetables were traded worldwide, a figure that is growing each year. The majority of this trade is of course transported by land, but in order for there to be a year round supply of exotic fruit and vegetables that you may well take for granted, then much is owed to ocean transportation.
As with all good stories it is a tale of two sides for the seaborne perishables sector. On one side you have the smaller conventionalreefership operators, and on the other the giant container lines.
