© Rosshelen
By Mike Wackett
The first shipment of clementines from Chile to China followed closely the maiden shipment of Colombian avocados to Shanghai, both made possible by the opening up of the Chinese market allowing the importation of citrus fruits from more countries.
MSC carried both shipments and is identifying new citrus tradelanes to build on the more than 1.8 million reefer containers it shipped last year.
As reported by The Loadstar this week, the carrier and its peers are reacting to the modal shift of reefer cargo away from conventional shipping. Indeed, Drewry’s latest annual review forecasts a very healthy 5% annual growth for reefer cargo carried by containerships after an expansion of 3.4% last year to 10.6 million teu.
