Reading time: 4 minutes. From the processor to the consignee, a good shipping strategy is the ideal solution for product export.

With over 21 million hectares cultivated all over its territory, Mexico is the 11^th country in the world ranking of food production and occupies the same position in the raking of top agricultural crops.

Fresh fruit such as avocado, lemon, mango and berries are on the list of the main Mexican agri-food products exported to the whole world.

Fresh fruit IQF

One of the best ways to export fresh fruit (mango, strawberries and other berries) is using the individual quick-frozen method (IQF).

After a nitrogen treatment, fresh fruit in an optimal state of maturation freezes quickly and immediately, from its center outwards.

Thus, the fruit does not lose properties and nutrients, without added chemicals or losing any organoleptic properties. Texture, flavor, proteins, vitamins, the amount of water and fat are perfectly preserved.

Have you ever imagined that deep-frozen fruit could be even better than artificially ripened fresh fruit?

Expertise in logistics to move IQF fruit

In Ocean exports, the fundamental task of a quality freight forwarder is to preserve the temperature of the fresh frozen fruit (IQF) throughout its shipment.

The process is quite similar to the transport of frozen juice, which we detailed in another article. No special technologies, ventilation or humidity control is required; we use standard reefer containers to maintain temperature, which ranges from -9.4°F to -0.4°F (-23°C to -18°C).

Preserving the cold chain from the processing company to the consignee, the product already travels packaged exactly as it will reach the supermarkets and homes of final consumers.

Ocean freight is the ideal modality for the export of fresh frozen fruit for:

1. its costs
2. its transit time does not affect the quality of then product

Europartners Group teams dedicated to Ocean export are constantly updated through courses and workshops with shipping companies and experts in the sector, to learn about the sensitivity of deep-frozen fresh fruit (IQF) cargo, the cold chain –and each product– most specific requirements, to be capable to offer the market extra services, such as:

• Monitoring of temperature behavior using thermographers connected to the internet
• Cargo insurance
• Customs clearance
• Door-to-port or door-to-door plans, with container-carrying ground-freight units to avoid breaking the cold chain

• Support to get the best out of your own agreements with shipping companies, through our Ocean Carrier Management service:

Fun facts:

• The main areas that process fresh fruit to export from Mexico are in the Bajio area and in the states of Michoacán and Nayarit.
• The main port to export fresh fruit to Europe is Altamira, mainly to the ports of Rotterdam (Holland), Antwerp (Belgium) and Algeciras (Spain). To Canada, Ocean freight reaches the ports in the east of the country.
• To Asia, main ports are Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas, mainly to Tokyo and Yokohama (Japan).
• When freezing a fresh fruit like mango, for example, using a home freezer (which takes a couple of hours in the process), the hydrogen ions in the fruit expand, breaking down its cell walls. When thawing it, the consistency will not look good, as it will have lost the water from the broken cell.