Shipping fruit in controlled atmosphere containers is normal for exotic fruit as well as for Chilean cherries or South African table grapes. It is not as common for Italian apples, “though we have recently shipped a few containers of Italian apples to India,” explains Massimo Delpozzo, sales manager at Nord Ovest.
This is a test that has become essential to reach the markets furthest away with less risk. This is because the issues on the Suez Canal have led to transit times that are 15–20 days longer. “Our clients are worried, especially for the next sales campaign. It seemed absurd to us to lose clients due to logistic problems, so we started thinking about how to maintain quality high despite the longer times.”
It is not easy to find suitable containers for this type of shipments in the Italian ports. The recent shipments are a test in view of a more widespread use, should things not change. “We shipped two containers, one is controlled atmosphere while the other is a traditional one, so we can verify the difference between the two batches upon arrival.”
“For the test to be as scientific as possible, we shipped apples of the same varieties that have been stored in the same way and coming from the same harvest, to reduce variables to a minimum.”
“I believe this will be an excellent future opportunity to reach faraway markets despite the current situation, guaranteeing quality and reducing the risk of complaints.”
