New port of Moin and wider Panama Canal could prove fruitful for Latin growers

The existing port at Limon can only handle geared vessels up to 2,500 teu

New container terminals prioritising reefer boxes, along with the expanded Panama Canal, could be a catalyst for major fruit producers to stop using conventional reefer vessels.

At last week’s TOC Americas Container Supply Chain conference in Cancun, Pablo Ulloa, commercial manager of Costa Rica for APM Terminals, described how pineapple and banana supply chains would change once the container terminal the company is building on the country’s Atlantic seaboard opens in 2018.

“Costa Rica is the largest pineapple producer in the world and is the world’s ...