Cutting corners on pallet quality short-sighted

Cost-conscious shippers trying to squeeze extra mileage out of a pallet, or who purchase an inferior product, may find their ‘savings’ illusory, organisations representing perishable exporters are warning their members. “Pallets are inspected and stamped with ISPM 15 markings to ensure they have been chemically treated against pests. It seems that we have the same problem every year with the incorrect or illegible marking of pallets. Sometimes a pallet will bear two stamps,” Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association, told FTW. A relatively trivial matter like pallets can sabotage an entire consignment if shippers fail to ensure that the ISPM 15 stamp is clearly visible on all pallets. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) rejects any consignment on a pallet where this mark is not visible and legible. But a DAFF-vetted and properly stamped pallet may still prove costly to shippers if cheap construction (allowing for a lower purchase price favoured by some pennypinching shippers) leads to an accident that damages the product or the people handling it. Said Chadwick, “What is the sense of putting R10 000-plus worth of fruit on a substandard pallet to save a few rands? The pallet breaks and there goes all your ‘savings’, plus some.” DAFF recently sent out a notice to the Deciduous Fruit Producers’ Trust, the SA Table Grape Industry, CGA and the Fresh Produce Exporters Forum stating: “In all cases where DAPIS conduct phytosanitary inspections and the wood packaging material does not comply, the inspection lot will be rejected for export to all markets. Should the pallets not be marked then the fruit cartons will be restacked on pallets that comply with the ISPM 15 requirements. The mark must be legible, the pallet marked on two opposite sides, it must be permanent and not printed in red or orange. The pallet must not be stamped with more than one mark with different codes.” Shippers seeking cost-cutting opportunities are advised to look elsewhere than the humble pallet.