An analysis of the influence of logistics activities on the export cold chain of temperature sensitive fruit through the Port of Cape Town
Date
2015-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Background: South Africa exports a large variety of different fruit types and cultivars
worldwide. Yet, there is concern in the South African fruit industry that too much fruit and
money is lost each year due to breaks along the fresh fruit export cold chain.
Objective: The objective of this article was to identify the influence of logistics activities on
breaks along the South African fruit export cold chain. The focus is specifically on temperature
sensitive fruit, exported in refrigerated containers to Europe and the United Kingdom through
the Port of Cape Town. This supply chain was selected as this was the most accessible supply
chain in terms of retrieving the necessary temperature data.
Method: The cold chain was investigated from the cold store, through all segments, until
the Port of Cape Town. Temperature data collected with temperature monitoring devices
from different fruit export supply chains of grapes, plums and pome fruit (apples and pears)
were analysed to identify the percentage of temperature breaks and the length of temperature
breaks that occur at each segment of the cold chain.
Results: The results show that a large number of breaks are experienced along South Africa’s fruit
export cold chain, specifically at the interface between the cold store and the truck. In addition,
the findings also show that there has been an improvement in the number of breaks experienced
in the Port of Cape Town following the implementation of the NAVIS and Refcon systems.
Conclusion: This article concludes by providing the fruit industry with areas that require
addressing to improve operational procedures along the fruit export cold chain to help ensure
that the fruit arrives at its final destination at optimal quality.
Description
CITATION: Goedhals-Gerber, L. L., Haasbroek, L., Freiboth, H. & Van Dyk, E. 2015. An analysis of the influence of logistics activities on the export cold chain of temperature sensitive fruit through the Port of Cape Town. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 9(1), Art.
#201, doi:10.4102/jtscm.v9i1.201.
The original publication is available at http://www.jtscm.co.za
The original publication is available at http://www.jtscm.co.za
Keywords
Fruit trade -- South Africa, Exports -- South Africa, Cold storage, Business logistics
Citation
Goedhals-Gerber, L. L., Haasbroek, L., Freiboth, H. & Van Dyk, E. 2015. An analysis of the influence of logistics activities on the export cold chain of temperature sensitive fruit through the Port of Cape Town. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 9(1), Art.
#201, doi:10.4102/jtscm.v9i1.201.