Perishable challenge for airfreight

The volume of transported

horticulture and floriculture

produce is expected to

increase 460% by 2050

while foodstuff volumes

are expected to increase by

260%. And airfreight needs

to improve its service quality

if it wants to leverage this

perishables opportunity.

This according to Natasha

Solano, Kuehne & Nagel

global business development

manager for perishables

logistics, who said that

the trend for perishable

cargo to transfer over to

ocean transport was partly

due to the reduced cost

of using ocean transport,

environmental concerns and

also the fact that shipping

lines were opening new

routes serving perishableproducing

markets.

“However, it is also

because the temperature

of goods when being flown

tends to be more volatile

than shipping because of

the number of times it is

handled,“ she said, adding

that airfreight could reduce

the risk of losing customers

by ensuring staff are

educated about the impact

of temperature fluctuations

on perishable cargo.

She gave the example

of flowers that were going

bad during air transport

because they were stowed

close to the cargo doors.

This means that when a

waypoint stop is made for

more cargo to be loaded,

they are exposed to heat.

INSERT & CAPTION

Perishable volumes

expected to increase

by 460% by 2050.

– Natasha Solano