“We are usually only confronted with the damages,” says Hans Frans of DP Surveys. That might sound negative, but he sees the market changing from his position as part of an independent expertise company. A number of trends are the increasing use of reefer containers, the rise of the exotic and tropical fruit segment, and the development of new packaging that should increase shelf lives of these fresh products.
“For example, when a partially ripe fruit shipment arrives in Europe and the insurance company is called, we investigate the circumstances, the nature and the extent of the damages,” Hans Frans, Operations Director, explains. The costs of the damages are calculated and summarised in a report. Whether the claim is justified and should be paid out or not is up to the insurance company and depends on terms of the policy. DP Surveys only investigate the damages.
Damages investigation
One of the company’s specialities, using a global network of agents, is in refrigerated transport. “When a refrigerated load has damages, decisions have to be made quickly,” Hans says. “We immediately have to enter into talks with the involved parties to see if damages can be limited by sorting it, repacking it or marketing it faster.” With products such as shoes, there’s not as much urgency, and more time can be spent on the investigation.
“For fruit transports, we investigate the cause of the damages,” he continues. To that end, it needs to be determined if the damages are the consequence of the transport or if there was a quality problem in the country of origin. “That’s a tricky question, and a bit of a grey area,” Hans knows. “It’s difficult to say with 100 per cent certainty what caused the damages. It’s often a combination of weak product that’s been transported at the wrong temperatures. We then have to decide how to proportionally divide the damages.”
Delicate products
The expertise company does these investigations for all transports, over land, by sea or air. If there are damages, DP Survey can investigate the cause. “Fruit has become an important commodity, and we have seen the value of shipments increasing.” Blueberries, redcurrant, avocados, mangoes and cherries are valuable products. “Blueberries are in much demand, but it’s a delicate product,” Hans explains. The value of a container of blueberries can amount to 100,000 euro.
“Papaya is also a delicate product fetching nice prices, but transportation can be problematic.” Most damages, however, occur in bananas. And that’s not surprising, considering the enormous amount being shipped across the oceans. “It makes sense that damages are reported more frequently, but in relation to volume it’s actually less.”
Longer transport time
A switch from reefer boats to reefer containers can be clearly seen on the market. That also has consequences for the damages that are claimed. “We’ve noticed damages are reported more frequently, but at lower costs.” In the past, all products in a hold might’ve been damaged, but now that’s been limited to one container. The disadvantage is that containers are now often in transit longer. “With conventional reefers, you could go from South America to Europe in 12 days, but with container fleets, it takes about 20 days,” Hans calculates. However, for refrigerated transport, it’s better to be as fast as possible, so that there is less chance of damages.
“Some shipping companies still have weekly routes with bananas and pineapples, but those lines are also under pressure.” Specialist shipping companies such as Seatrade are also investing in containers more often. “It’s no longer justifiable economically, and companies want to be able to offer door-to-door delivery.” There are few differences between shipping companies when it comes to damages. “They all use the same system, and especially container shipping companies use the same type of containers.
To tackle the effects on quality due to longer transport times, investments are made into MA (Modified Atmosphere) and CA (Controlled Atmosphere) packaging. Besides, investments in ULO storage are also playing a part. Because of that, the ripening process can be delayed, and traders can plan their sales more easily.
Pitching and turbulence
The lunging and pitching of boats and storms at sea result in damages more often than turbulence in airplanes or accidents with lorries. Yet there are some bottlenecks for air freight. “Air freight is quick, you can often be at your destination within two or three days. It’s therefore interesting for valuable products,” Hans says. However, one major disadvantage is that airlines don’t want to make a commitment to refrigerated transport. Airplanes aren’t equipped for that. “For example, asparagus from Peru is a super sensitive product to high temperatures, but the product can’t be cooled in airplanes.” That’s why the asparagus is cooled and then packed in isolating material. That works well, but if a pallet stays at Miami airport in the sun too long, or if a flight is missed due to delays, problems arise.
DP Surveys can also be brought in during an earlier stage to prevent damages. Using a global network, the head office being in Antwerp, Belgium, the company is able to do audits before the products are shipped. “In theory, we can investigate every party before transport, although that is expensive. More often, we visit the plantations once or twice per year, to see the entire process from harvest to packaging, to check whether it’s all done adequately. In the end, this is meant to prevent damages, because these benefit no one.”
More information:
DP Survey
Hans Frans