Last autumn Peter Smets and Rene Kraaijeveld started a direct export line from Agadir (Morocco) to Russia under the name Rpfreshline. “We consciously focused on the export of Moroccan tomatoes and peppers in all varieties this first season. The ambition is to further expand the assortment later. “It’s tempting to take it all on at once, but we want to start slowly and gradually build up the export,” says Peter Smets.“A good move was working with our own inspector on site. He checks all shipments before departure. This gives us an advantage among our Russian customers. When you do business with us, you know you’re getting what you asked for in the container,” explains Peter.
"We work with multiple packaging stations in Morocco. The larger packaging stations know where to find us now as well. We have reduced the number of suppliers to the companies we have had the best experiences with, as the differences in the country are big,” says Peter. “All in all it has really been a success. We have expanded the team with two Russian colleagues and are looking at how to further expand our service.”
“Our entirely Moroccan trade is focused on the Russian retail. With a direct container connection, the Moroccan trade is in St Petersburg in eight days. We organise the entire logistics from door to door, from booking the containers to the transport by truck to the retailers’ distribution centres,” concludes Peters.
“The advantage of the Moroccan production is that the supply is relatively stable. It has been on the warm side in Agadir, but we haven’t had trouble making our volumes. At the end of April the Moroccan tomato season will have ended and we will look at what other products we can approach our Russian customers with.”
For more information:
RPfreshline
Tel: 046 20 60 200
info@rpfreshline.com