"We can ship fruit from Thailand to Spain in 24 hours"

The need to ensure that goods arrive in perfect condition, with a long enough shelf life in stores, and at a price that a standard family can afford, is what has motivated SukhothaiTrading Co Ltd to set the goal of shipping from Thailand to Spain in just 24 hours. "We want to make sure that we offer the best logistics, with the best combinations possible, so that we can deliver the most efficient shipping times with low logistics costs, as this ends up having an impact on the product's price," explains Rafael Vicente Arche, of SukhothaiTrading Co Ltd. 

To do this, the Thai company proposes to eliminate the stopovers that are normally scheduled in the Netherlands or London. "We aim for just a single, two-hour transhipment in the United Arab Emirates, at night, so that the fruit is not affected by the temperatures, and from there go directly to Spain so that the fruit arrives first thing in the morning, ready to be redistributed."

However, there is still room for improvement. "Taking into account that the average shelf life of these fruits is 15 days and they spend 5 in the trip, with all that this entails, it can be expected for them not to arrive in the best conditions," explains Vicente. In fact, "several traders of the main wholesale markets in Spain have told me that the fruit arrives rotten, which adds to the fact that, depending on the product, the price oscillates between 14 and 20 Euro per kilo. All of this makes it tougher for it to be sold."

The exotic fruit market is becoming more relevant in Spain, with products imported in recent years from various origins, such as Central America, Vietnam or Thailand. And although we still have to carry out some promotional work in the country, "we are finding new customers who are interested in consuming these fruits, as they are tired of eating just the more common apples, bananas, etc. Furthermore, it is a generation that travels more and tries more new things, with a willingness to add them to their daily routines," explains Vicente Arche.