"Good prospects for exports to U.S. and Canada"

Kuehne + Nagel has recently signed a partnership agreement with Commodity Forwaders Inc. (CFI), the largest perishables handling company in the United States. CFI has a dozen offices in the U.S. and its headquarters are in Los Angeles. "We are going to work in partnership with CFI on the West Coast. I am very optimistic about the agreement, as this company speaks our language and knows the world of perishables inside out," says Jur de Graaf, General Manager Export Perishable Logistics at Kuehne + Nagel.

Kuehne + Nagel will collaborate with the offices in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco. According to Jur, the cooperation is of particular interest to facilitate flower and vegetable shipments from South America and the Netherlands and the international exports from Los Angeles. "In New York (JFK) we have our own Perishable facilities. What is great is that CFI JFK uses freezers and coolers from us. Thus, we complement each other and we are able to make good use of one another's services."

The export of perishables to the United States and Canada is on the rise, according to Jur, "quite a number of shipments of horticultural products and flowers are expected to be made this year. The situation last year was worse, but the economy is slowly recovering and Dutch imports will increase. Exchange rates naturally have an impact on trade, but prices stand much lower than last year. This is unfortunate for horticulturists, but international exporters benefit from it."

The weather in the Netherlands has also ensured a smooth start for the greenhouse vegetables export season. "The year has started in a completely opposite way to last year. Last year we had a bad spring and the weather in Canada was great, and this had an impact on prices for the entire season. This year everything started earlier in the Netherlands, while in Canada it is still freezing."

Additionally, carriers are pleased about fuel prices "finally" stabilising. "We are concerned about what the situation in Ukraine will bring, but for now prices are stable and we hope things remain that way. The same applies to security regulations. Several years ago, some measures were introduced that increased costs, but that has also now reached its peak." Kuehne + Nagel has its own team of dogs for the control of the cargo, unlike many colleagues who use X-ray machines, which increase costs.

On the question of whether African producers will make more direct shipments to U.S. destinations, Jur replies, "that trend is already in motion, but logistically the Netherlands remains an important connection point for Africa. For example, plenty of flowers are still flown to Amsterdam, placed in a pre-cooler and then forwarded to the U.S. On the other hand, plenty of products, such as mangoes and all kinds of beans, are still flown here."

Importers should know that more is being unloaded via Belgium to get round the increased NVWA rates. Kuehne + Nagel's has responded to this with a 'set up' in Liège, where the flights from Ethiopian Airlines, among others, are handled. These are processed by Kuehne + Nagel Belgium in cooperation with Kuehne + Nagel Netherlands. "In addition to cost considerations, the handling speed also plays a role, and in Liège it is faster than in Amsterdam. Besides Liège, Kuehne + Nagel also has an office in Brussels. The Belgian market is still fairly nationalistic and prefers to work with freight agents from their own country," concluded Jur.

For more information:
Kuehne + Nagel N.V.
Anchoragelaan 40
NL - 1118 LE Schiphol-Rijk
Tel: (0) 88 55 44 671
Fax: +31 (0) 84 83 99 150
jur.degraaf@kuehne-nagel.com
www.kuehne-nagel.com