Asia’s Reefer Trade: an Ocean Carrier’s Perspective

Eric Eng Vice President, Global Reefer Trade APL

Overview

•  The reefer container: a brief introduction

•  Asia reefer trade growth: a snapshot

•  How technology is changing the trade

•  Trade outlook

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The reefer container •  First container refrigeration unit built in 1956

•  Used in intermodal transportation of temperature sensitive cargo

•  Insulated box to which a refrigerated unit is fitted

•  All-electric unit with cooling / heating systems to provide precise temperature and humidity control

•  Designed to operate under severe conditions with ambient range from -35°C to +50°C

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*Source: http://container50.org.uk/ThermoKing.pdf

Cost advantage – Shipping cost is relatively lower than airfreight costs

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Advantages of shipping fresh produce via reefer containers

Environmental focus – On average, a container emits 40x less CO2 than a large freight aircraft

– Container shipping is 2.5x more energy efficient than rail and 7x compared to road

Advantages of shipping fresh produce via reefer containers

Quality control –  Precise temperature control (+/- 0.25 °C) –  Technological advances safeguard product quality

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Network coverage –  APL provides > 60 weekly services reaching over

25,000 locations in 140 countries –  Full range of transportation solutions, including

seamless door-to-door services

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Asia Produce Exports to various regions – percentage growth

Source: Global Insight

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Asia Produce Imports from various regions – percentage growth

Source: Global Insight

It is estimated that a quarter of the world’s fresh produce is never consumed

because of inadequate transportation between grower and consumer

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Investing in reefer technology, like what APL does, can make the difference between a grower’s

produce reaching new markets and that grower’s produce never reaching consumers

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Transit time Sensitive cargo

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What it is –  Most effective method to prolong shelf-life and

maintain quality of fresh produce –  Precisely controls atmospheric composition

(balance between O2 and CO2 )

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Controlled Atmosphere (CA)

Benefits –  Extends post-harvest life by up to 3x –  Safeguards product quality –  Suitable for long voyages, making ocean transport a

viable alternative to airfreight

Examples of longer shelf-life with CA

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How is technology changing the trade?

Perishables reach new, distant markets in prime condition –  Avocados from Peru to Hong Kong; Mexico to Singapore –  Blueberries from USA to Hong Kong –  Cherries from USA to China

Regulated Atmosphere (RA)

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What it is –  More precise than other commodity-generated

atmosphere systems –  Uses natural effects of cargo respiration to achieve

desired O2 level; removes ethylene; maintains CO2 levels

Benefits –  Ideal for high respiration produce –  Extends marketable life of perishables –  Affordable alternative to using CA

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How is technology changing the trade?

Distant markets are opened

With RA, bananas can travel anywhere from 35-55 days

APL has shipped bananas from Ecuador to Middle East (Jordan, Egypt)

and Mediterranean (Turkey)

APL used RA to ship first “Mahachanok” mangoes from Thailand to Japan over 12 days

Availability of alternative transport mode

Cold Treatment (CT)

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What it is –  In-transit process that exterminates fruit flies and larvae –  Eliminates need for fumigation (eg. use of methyl bromide)

Benefits –  Ensures produce meets local quarantine standards –  Perishables get to market much faster –  Non-fumigated products command premium value

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How is technology changing the trade? By ensuring fresh produce meets local quarantine requirements,

technology opens up new markets to growers

•  Jun 2011

•  First shipment of crimson grapes

•  Australia to China

SMARTemp™

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What it is –  Satellite Monitoring and Remote Temperature Tracking –  Provides real-time temperature and humidity information –  Live demo www.apl.com

Benefits –  Unrivalled time, cost, quality advantages –  Added visibility provides peace of mind –  Immediate corrective action where needed

A Case Study

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•  Using combination of CT/SMARTemp™ •  Pulp temperature kept < 2.2C for 24 days, meeting

CT protocols •  Jul 2011 - APL first ocean carrier to ship grapefruits

from Mexico to Japan

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Trade Outlook

Thank you

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