Distribution

Following the release of its eleventh annual reefer analysis, Dynamar Shipping Information and Consultancy indicates that worldwide volumes of refrigerated trade reached a new high of 169.2 million tons in 2019, according to provisional figures, indicating a growth rate of just below 2% when compared to…

The United States is the world's largest importer of ginger. Conventional ginger accounts for approximately 89% of all US ginger imports. The country's imports present a steady growth at an average annual rate of 8.3%. In 2019 the country imported 78,505 tons. The US imported 63,392 tons of ginger…

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Wednesday reviewed Chinese customs data and found several major blockages of Australian imports over the past month, including 9,000 liters of Australian craft beer turned away at the port city of Xiamen and 8,000 kilograms of frozen beef denied entry to Shanghai. China and Australia are embroiled in a long-running trade and diplomatic feud.

In the past few years more and more systems have been installed at mushroom farms using vacuum cooling as a rapid cooling method for mushrooms. Having the correct cooling processes in place is important in the handling of any fresh produce but for mushrooms it can be even more critical. While consumer…

With Christmas fast approaching, fruit and vegetable sales will again climb 'a little' in Belgium and the Netherlands. People like to serve something special, so exotic fruit sales will also rise. Many exotics are, however, flown in from places like Southeast Asia and South America. The coronavirus pandemic…

The Coordinator of Agricultural Producer and Livestock Organizations (COAG) has submitted a formal complaint to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), claiming to have indications of the existence of an alleged fraudulent network set up to avoid the payment of customs duties on agricultural imports from…

A Japanese research institute has developed a machine that uses ultraviolet rays to protect mikan -satsuma- against rotting. Researchers at the Saika Technological Institute Foundation, which produces food quality inspection equipment and devices, and other parties, including the Shizuoka prefectural…

According to a report from maritime industry analyst Joe Monroe, global shipping companies are posting record revenue in 2020. This increase has prompted the FMC to announce that it will closely monitor the actions of the shipping lines, which it has asked to begin reporting any rate changes on a monthly…

It's one of the biggest logistical challenges in modern history: How will millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses that must be kept at incredibly cold temperatures be quickly shipped across continents and oceans?

News has come out that Russia will not allow imports of tomatoes from Uzbekistan, Turkey, Armenia, Morocco and some other countries anymore due to detection of the pepino mosaic. Speaking with a Russian fruit specialist, it seems this is all true except for the Moroccon imports. They are not able to ship…

According to a statement made by Rosselhoznadzor, shipment of tomatoes and peppers from Antalya and Izmir was banned. As the justification for the decision, it was shown that the tomatoes contained rugose virus, tomato spotted wilt virus and pepino mosaic virus, all of which were brought in from these…

The outbreak of Covid-19 has had and still has an important impact on the international market. Fruit and vegetable companies are struggling with the obstacles created by this pandemic. Distribution in particular has become much more difficult this year. Market supply chains are slower and less reliable,…

Rapid re-cooling of fruit and vegetables is becoming increasingly important to buyers, sees Willem van der Does of BG Door International. That includes products from countries, like Africa, where cooling isn't frequently used. He says if soft fruit and vegetables are cooled quickly after harvesting, it…

Ford’s long-running Miami self-driving car tests might just prove vital during the pandemic. The automaker, Argo AI and The Education Fund are running an eight-week pilot program that uses autonomous Fusion Hybrid cars to deliver fresh produce to Mia...

Temperature plays a vital part in fruit and vegetable storage. Here, the essential aspects are those that ensure quality and prevent wastage, and, therefore, decrease costs. So, cooling certainly isn't an unimportant step in the process. In many countries, there are plenty of cooling facilities…

The Center for Produce Safety awarded more than $300,000 to a research project that is examining the risk of contamination in distribution center environments by surveying managers and collecting testing samples at their facilities, focusing on potentially high-risk areas, practices and equipment. The…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility intercepted alleged methamphetamine and heroin worth $2,987,000 in a commercial shipment of fresh carrots arriving from Mexico. “This interception of hard narcotics in the commercial…

The seizures of large quantities of drugs at seaports have been on the rise worldwide. The increase in shipping operations, coupled with large container ships doubling in size in the past couple of years, has provided an attractive mode of transport for drug traffickers. African ports are subject to this…

In November, Mercabarna will launch the first wholesale market specialized in organic food in Spain, and the second in Europe: Biomarket, which will concentrate the supply of this growing segment and will facilitate marketing and distribution from a single platform. One of the companies that will have a…

When looking at possible sources of contamination, far less attention has been put on produce distribution centers (DCs). “I think the DCs are a little out of sight, out of mind,” said Laurel Dunn, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of food science & technology at the University of Georgia in a release from the Center for Produce Safety (CPS). “We have been so focused on foodborne outbreaks and what’s happening at the field level or packinghouse wash water and employees and hand hygiene.” As such, in an announcement from CPS, Dunn discusses a project that seeks to understand the contamination issues happening at the DC level, namely vented produce in breathable containers or stored in coolers. Examples of the items being examined are berries, tomatoes, and onions in mesh bags.

Shippers, truckers, and freight forwarders reeling from almost US$150 million in demurrage fees linked to congestion in the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York this year have threatened to take their complaints to US congress to bring an end to carrier abuses.

More than 40 shippers and trucking associations have teamed up to criticise carriers’ failure to respect an “interpretative rule” introduced by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in May that sought to govern conflicts on the issue of demurrage and detention fees.

Members of the Harbor Trucking Association, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, and the Pacific Coast Council of Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers inundated the FMC at the start of the month with complaints about demurrage fees that have reached US$100 million in Los Angeles/Long Beach and US$50 million in New York already this year.

Four Singapore companies have been fined in the past month, being accused of illegally importing food products. All of the firms had penalties set in court. In October, CCL Impex Pte Ltd. was fined S$3,600 (US$2,700) for illegally importing fresh fruits, vegetables and processed food for sale. In…

In Africa, food security is a major problem, despite the projection that the continent can feed the nine billion people that will inhabit the planet by 2050. The International Coordinator, Africa Agriculture Agenda, Dr. Ikechi Agbugba, in this interview with EHIME ALEX, sets post-COVID-19 agenda for…

A few weeks ago there was a million-dollar fraud case in the Austrian fruit trade: 460 tons of apples of Czech origin were offered on the market as Austrian goods. Imprint LLC, based in Neutal in Burgenland, has been fighting this type of fraud for many years. Managing Director Bernd Bodiselitsch…

An extra shipment of mangos needs to be sent quickly. A Scandinavian client suddenly wants another entire load of flowers and plants. Or a pallet of garlic has to be flown to the Netherlands. "No problem at all for us," says Rick van t'Hag of the Dutch company, Cargorilla Logistics. "As a forwarding…

Just last week, the first shipment of Brussels sprouts from Guatemala arrived at the port of Miami for North Bay Produce. “The season is getting underway and supplies are building up,” says John Battle, Vegetable Category Manager for the company. The green globes are available through March and…

For the longest time, exotic fruit grown in the Philippines could not be shipped even to its capital, Manila, because it quickly becomes overripe. For fruits like lanzones and marang there is now a solution which preserves these to reach faraway markets. Even as far away as the US. The new technology to…

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is calling for comment on an application to irradiate fresh fruit and vegetables. FSANZ CEO Mark Booth said the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has applied for permission to irradiate fresh fruit and vegetables as a way to stop the spread of pests…

Reefer containers filled with fruit arrive by ship at Cool Port I in Waalhaven, Rotterdam. The pallets are removed, and in future, the reefers will be loaded with frozen French fries. The pallets will then immediately be sent back by barge to the Maasvlakte. By the beginning of 2020, these fries should…

Moving food into and around the UK produces 19 billion tonnes of CO2 a year (source: @DefraGovUK). Vertical farms can help us slash food miles and reduce emissions. #verticalfarming #indoorfarming #sustainablefoods #iag pic.twitter.com/OxHvPjI3xg