Asia Fruit Logistica 2022: Three Key Insights from a Major Shipping Line

MSC is delighted to achieve another successful participation at the annual Asia Fruit Logistica (AFL), where we showcased our modern reefer technology and strong cold-chain logistics offerings. More importantly, we also met with our customers to develop tailored-made solutions for their fruit shipments. This year’s edition of the leading trade show for international fresh fruit and vegetable business saw around 12,000 professionals from over 40 regions and countries.

AFL 2022 may have wrapped up, but our dedicated team of fruit experts are still available to support you in delivering your fruits from farm to final destination in optimal condition.

For a start, we’ve put together three key insights on the Asia fruit industry for you: 

1. Asia fruit demand is flourishing
According to IHS Markit, Asia will see steady growth in fruit shipments in 2022. Fruit exports are expected to grow more than 4% from 2021 to 2022 while imports will increase by over 3%. This upward trend is set to persist at a higher rate for 2023, with projected growth of 5% for exports and 6% for imports.

With this bright outlook of fruit exports and imports in Asia, it is all the more important for you to partner a leading transportation and logistics company, that is backed by a fleet of reliable and advanced reefer containers to ensure fruitful results for your fresh produce. 

2. High level of care and expertise to transport increasing exports of durians from Thailand to China 
In Southeast Asia, durians are lauded as the King of Fruits due to its large size, distinctive spikey appearance and rich flavour. This exotic fruit has also gained fast popularity in other parts of Asia, topping the chart for China’s fruit import in year 2021, with the majority of them coming from Thailand. According to financial institution Krungthai Compass, Thailand’s durian production will even overtake that of Indonesia to become the top producer in 2025. By 2030 their production will already increase 420% to 505 million tons.

Shipping the King of Fruits naturally comes with a unique set of characteristics. With a high exothermic reaction, durians releases heat that affects the temperature in the immediate environment. For this reason, shipping durians requires a high level of care and expertise. Thanks to our fleet of modern reefers and team of experienced experts, transporting your durians with MSC will ensure consistent temperature and good ventilation throughout the journey. These preserve the mighty qualities of the King of Fruits from farm to final destination.

3. Temperature and humidity control as well as shorter transit times to deliver bananas from Vietnam to China 
Meanwhile in Vietnam, another agricultural powerhouse, banana is amongst the country’s common fruit exports. This tropical fruit is one of China’s top imported fruits, according to China Customs. Vietnamese fruit exporters forecast an increase in banana exports to China moving forward. 

Similar to durians, transporting bananas requires an expert. This fragile fruit is extremely sensitive to changes in temperature, humidity and transit times where it can ripen too quickly, discolour or damage easily. To keep your bananas as fresh as possible throughout the transportation journey particularly to the further destinations, we utilise a highly advanced process known as Controlled Atmosphere to slow down the ripening of the bananas by regulating the atmosphere composition in the reefer. Our world-leading reefer fleet also features the latest temperature control technology and vent settings to optimise air circulation.

To shorten transit time, MSC’s freshly revamped Intra-Asia services will bring your bananas directly from Vietnam to China.

Count On Us for Your Fruit Shipments
With our first-class global reefer operations and ongoing dedication to customer care, you can count on us in preserving the taste, freshness, texture and aroma of your fruits.

Reach out to our teams of local experts in your country here.