Cost savings drive up ‘ambient’ citrus volumes

Encouraged by cost savings from shipping hard citrus at ambient temperatures, exporters are embracing the technique. The first commercial citrus shipments at ambient temperature left Durban in 2003 and Maputo harbour in 2005. 55 000 pallets of the fruit in 12m integral containers were shipped in 2010 out of Maputo and Durban, and more hard citrus is likely to go out this year without pre-cooling or cold storage, with SA at the height of its citrus export season. “Based on trials and strict adherence to prescribed protocols, ambient shipment has become a successful alternative to the conventional way of loading cooled citrus into containers,” said Johan Strydom, a consultant for GoReefers, who with Dr Malcolm Dodd compiled protocols for ambient citrus shipping that are now included in handling protocols published by the PPECB. Last year, better ventilated cartons appeared to boost ambient shipping, helping fruit to stay below the recommended maximum temperature of 22°C. Shortages of cold storage facilities at ports have also prompted shippers to consider the ambient method. “Not a single report of quality deterioration has been received to date,” said Strydom. “Ambient shipping of citrus in containers is not only a viable option in terms of quality but holds substantial financial and environmental benefits,” he said, indicating such “green” benefits for this transport method as less energy used during shipping and handling. Less energy use translates as cost savings, which appear to be the driving factor of ambient shipping’s new popularity. At the Maputo Port Development and Citrus Shipping Planning Workshop a few months ago, citrus shippers were told that loading citrus from ambient conditions could reduce the cost of exporting significantly, especially at a time when shipping costs are rising higher than citrus prices overseas. The workshop report noted: “The most significant saving comes from reducing the pre-cooling and storage costs at the harbour. It has been determined that a saving of around R250 per pallet (R3.00 per carton) can be made by loading from ambient. A further saving comes from packing containers at the farm and railing or trucking the container directly to the port container terminal. With this practice all handling and storage costs are omitted as is the port container crosshaul cost (transporting of container from an empty depot to the facility to be packed and transporting to port container terminal).” However, to truly reap savings from ambient shipping, citrus shippers need to strictly adhere to PPECB protocols, Strydom said.