Shift to reefer containers benefits fruit exporters

John Reid . . . 'We are seeing more and more pre-packed and labelled fruit going directly from the farm to the supermarket door.' ADDITIONAL REEFER capacity has enabled fruit exporters to offer a field to floor service to supermarkets abroad. “We are seeing more and more pre-packed and labelled fruit going directly from the farm to the supermarket door,” says John Reid of Maersk Sealand in Port Elizabeth. “There is a definite shift from conventional to container traffic, with containers providing a number of advantages. “These include less handling, fewer unloading movements, and better quality at the out-turn. Containers also facilitate inland movements,” he says. According to Reid, investment in new ships by Maersk Sealand and SAECS partners means that there are now in excess of 800 reefer plugs per vessel available to SA-Europe exporters in order to support the move towards containerisation.