Airfreight must improve service quality if it is to minimise the impact of customers with perishable goods switching to seafreight.
Kuehne & Nagel's global business development manager for perishables logistics, Natasha Solano, said that over the last few years there had been a trend for perishable cargo to transfer over to ocean transport.
She said this was partly down to the reduced cost of using ocean transport — on a Columbia-Europe service flower transport costs are reduced by 40% — environmental concerns and also shipping lines opening new routes serving perishable-producing markets.
However, it was also because of improvements in refrigerated sea container technology which mean that temperature fluctuations during transport were greatly reduced.
The temperature of goods when being flown tended to be more volatile than shipping because of the number of times it is handled, she explained.
In contrast to seafreight, where goods are loaded into a container at an early stage in the supply chain and then not generally handled again until delivery, airfreight goods are exposed every time they are loaded and unloaded onto trucks and aircraft.
Click here to read the complete article at www.aircargonews.net.

Announcements
Job Offers
"Tweeting Growers"
Top 5 - yesterday
- "We now have full control of our rooting container and substrate"
- KF Bioplants names two new gerbera varieties and Best Grower of 2023
- "May the White Force bloom with you"
- What to expect at the California Spring Trials?
- Bredefleur Moerkapelle takes over neighbour's greenhouse and expands to 13.5 hectares
Top 5 - last week
Top 5 - last month
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2018-03-29 FloraHolland verfies Floralife Express Clear 100 for roses
- 2018-03-02 NPPO-approved systems approach for the import of cut flowers to Australia
- 2018-02-23 New Zealand: Digital biosecurity officer starts at Auckland Airport
- 2018-02-16 Special box extends shelf-life of flowers
- 2018-02-15 "Avoid cutting losses by prioritizing sticking"
- 2018-02-13 US: Customs will inspect 1 billion flowers imported for Valentine's Day
- 2018-01-31 US: Delayed shipments can stress vegetative cuttings
- 2018-01-30 Canada: Deadline pushed back for Greenhouse Certification Program
- 2018-01-19 New Zealand court fines plant smuggler
- 2017-12-20 India: Training on dried flowers technology and value addition
- 2017-11-29 Drugs found in South American flower shipment
- 2017-11-28 NL: New cooling rooms in use at VWS Flowerbulbs
- 2017-11-27 "Up to four times higher sales"
- 2017-11-22 "Flowers don’t require tough labor"
- 2017-10-25 Taking care of pathogens in the delivery process
- 2017-10-24 New device allows continuous monitoring of the cold chain
- 2017-10-03 US: APHIS starts offshore greenhouse certification pilot program
- 2017-10-02 "US can become a much larger market for Colombia"
- 2017-09-25 "Better shelf life, bigger and whiter flowers"
- 2017-09-22 India: Renovation of cold storage for flowers a boon