Fresh produce accounts for four percent of the world seaborne trade of dry cargoes, and Japan consumes one in three bananas, says industry analyst Dynamar in its recent report Reefer Analysis: Market Structure, Conventional, Containers.

Worldwide international trade of refrigerated perishables dipped in 2015 when volumes reduced by two percent to an estimated 144.4 million tons. The market improved in 2016 with a growth of nearly 3.5 percent, and this is expected to improve further by 4.0 percent in 2017 as trade in both conventional reefer ships and refrigerated boxes is estimated to have reached 110 million tons. 110 million tons equals some 9,100 laden conventional reefer ships of 500,000-cft average, or 3.71 million full 40-foot high cube reefer containers. 

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive