Fesco FESH.MM, one of Russia’s largest transportation companies, is in negotiations to establish a shipping route between Russia and Latin America, hoping to import bananas from Ecuador. As the West has imposed sweeping sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, the world’s three largest container shipping lines, Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM and Swiss-based MSC, have suspended bookings to and from Russia.
Andrei Severilov, chairman of Fesco’s board of directors: “We are currently holding negotiations with our partners – retailers who are interested in restoring lost routes.” The company is focusing on delivering bananas from Ecuador, as well as agricultural products from other Latin American countries, he added.
Severilov said the key problem was the lack of a large capacity fleet and that Fesco plans to buy ships with more than twice the capacity of those it has today, up to 7,000 TEU, a measure of container capacity. Bananas are one of the most popular fruits among Russian consumers, accounting for 21.7% of fruit sales in monetary terms between January and October this year.
Source: gcaptain.com