Lufthansa Cargo reports ongoing growth in the transport of berries to Europe from Argentina, Chile, Mexico and, as of this year, Peru, especially during the high demand period for berries during the European and North American winter time. Uta Frank, product manager for the company’s Frankfurt-based Fresh/td perishables division, told ED that transport of strawberries from Egypt is also developing strongly, along with ongoing high demand from Brazil for all kind of fruits.
“We have noted an increase in deliveries for shipments coming from Brazil, Ecuador and Kenya which are arriving in Frankfurt by freighter and will be transported to different European countries and Perishable Import Stations such as London, Amsterdam and, as of recently, also to Russia,” Frank also said.
“We are noticing an increase not only in flowers but now also fruit and vegetables being transported to Russia, e.g. from Kenya, maybe due to the new restrictions on goods from Turkey. But we can also see that many customers are interested in direct flights to Russia instead of transporting them by truck. Additionally, we are now seeing trial shipments by sea for flowers from Kenya, as well as some blackberries from South American countries. So it will might be interesting in the future to the developments, but we are still expecting demand for air freight,” she said.