There is still too much waste and inefficiency in the fresh produce business and such failings are occurring predominately at the start and the end of the supply chain.
That was the no-nonsense view expressed by Andy Connell, business manager for special projects and industry affairs at Dole South Africa, during the recent Cool Logistics Global conference.
“Perishable handling skills need to be ratched up,” he commented. “Where is the most waste occurring in the value chain? It’s the beginning and the end, the first mile and the last mile.”
While underlining the need for producers and exporters to take greater care at the start of the chain, he reserved his harshest criticism for the retail business: “If the supermarkets continue to treat all perishables as a commodity, more waste is going to occur and profitability will slip away.”
He also said more should be done to eliminate errors en route: “Shipping lines need to work harder in their quest to improve efficiency. Mistakes in administration need to be eradicated.”
With too much value lost to poor understanding of the cool chain, Connell suggested there were plenty of examples of how control in the supply chain could be improved.
“One of the things we’d like to see is supply lines opening up more to other exporters, more collaboration,” he said, citing a new weekly rail service for fruit running between Tzaneen, north-east of Pretoria, to Cape Town, as an example of how shared services could create savings and improve service levels.
The Transnet service, a joint venture between Dole, Unifrutti and Zest, cuts out the port of Durban, which has experienced delays due to congestion during recent citrus export seasons, and therefore offers a reduction in transit times to Europe.
“People were referring to our rail service as a ‘Dole train’. So, we offered other exporters lower rates and last year we had three other parties involved. This year five.”
He added: “Dole didn’t dominate the train. The real spin-off was that the rail service provider, when they saw more people using it, put more resources behind it.”
