Photo evidence of fruit condition gains currency

Changing global markets are requiring more stringent pre-shipment spot checks for fruit exports, clearing and forwarding agencies are reporting. “The importers’ requirements are getting more specific. Previously shipments overseas would go to a distribution agent, but the markets have changed and now (SA) exporters are selling to a specific receiver like a supermarket that has specific requirements for fruits. Pre-shipment inspections are undertaken to ensure that these requirements are met and also in case of quality issues. If the receiver puts in a claim for damages the shipper will have proof of shipment quality before it goes out,” Mitchell Brooke, logistics coordinator for the Citrus Growers’ Association, told FTW. Shippers routinely do external checks (pallet condition, etc) before shipments depart, and are doing more internal checks of shipment quality for insurance. This includes digital photography of fruit condition. “We do internal checks at the cold storage in Durban at the request of shippers. It's an add-on service. Some shippers haven't been doing internal checks because their product is spot-checked on the farms by PPECB, they get the certification and they assume everything is all right. But because it was just that, a “spot check”, we do our own spot checks again at the cold stores in Durban,” said Tania Jennings, director of Orchard Forwarding & Logistics, or Agri-OFL as the firm's new post-merger name will likely be. Last year, Orchard Forwarding & Logistics handled 15% of citrus exports from Durban. The figure will probably double to 30% this year, Jennings said. Shippers hire independent firms to open pallets and conduct internal inspections. One such firm told FTW that there was an additional up-side to such inspections beyond providing documented insurance of quality. “We inspect the fruit twice, when it arrives at port and secondly when it’s loaded. We take photographs and include these with a letter to the growers. We may find a fruit is more mature in ripening and we recommend that the temperature control be adjusted,” the inspector said. “You need trained people to do this because if (damage) claims arise from the receiver the proof needs to hold up,” said Jennings.