THE FIRST BOAT “HORTICULTURAL” Arrival at ALMERIA TO START TRANSPORT.

The increase in road transport costs linked to regulatory restrictions, Traffic incidents and climate, It has caused the fruit and vegetables Almeria Seaway have chosen to bring their productions to northern Europe.

 

The ship of the French company CMA, DS Accuracy, He was the first to arrive in Almeria. From now held weekly calls at the port of Almeria, where you collect containers to carry vegetables to northern Europe in a clear alternative to road transport.

The next June, channels Ibérica, subsidiary of the Dutch shipping company Shipping Alveis, will begin operating from Almeria and Huelva to bring the fruit and vegetable production to the port of Rotterdam.

This bet exporters Almeria seeks to reduce the high costs of road transport using the Mediterranean corridor. Now they try to create a “seaway” allowing gain competitiveness.

In response to this new demand it has created the company Agrologística which aims to consolidate stable routes to improve the competitiveness of the sector and provide the necessary logistics for transport by sea.

The director of Agrologística, Jesus Square, explains that the challenge of increasing the logistical possibilities of fruit and vegetables almerienses, expanding its possibilities beyond the massive use of road transport, each day progresses towards a more optimal positioning, to avoid dependence, almost exclusively, truck for shipments by agriculture.

Agrologística bases its strategy on the high dependence on agro almeriense of the road transport sector, involves certain inherent problems that, such as the availability of the necessary fluctuating every moment trucks, prices are being increasingly affected by rising fuel costs, and increasing regulatory restrictions, both traffic and labor and environmental, plus it requires a large investment and maintenance costs, in a sector subject to many incidents very difficult to control (traffic, weather, strikes, etc).

Almeria exporters are aware of the need to seek alternatives to this transport, since it is the only possibility with which have to maintain competitiveness.

The accolade this option occurred last March, in which representatives of the Almeria horticultural sector visited the English port of Southampton to hear live landing, receipt and dispatch of fruit and vegetables.

Almeria delegation attended the arrival of a ship from Canary, Cold Chikuma. The reefer carrying a load 2400 pallets tomatoes. The visiting group was able to verify the operational efficiency used for unloading of palletized goods, the rate used in the same and security guarantees for the goods during the process. In fact, maintaining the cold chain at all times and quality control that is carried out systematically in the store terminal it was checked before final shipment to the final destination.

Experience is not new. In May 2011 start was given 'official’ the first regular line transport of fruit and vegetables between Almeria and northern Europe. Eighteen exporters began deliveries English port of Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Hamburg.

Exporters acknowledge that the crisis has convinced the sector that fuel and distribution costs, They have declined the side bet of shipping.

On the other hand, Canarian tomato exporters insist on the thesis that have been advocating against the obstinacy of the Administration in charge them to use more expensive transportation. We have not only used the most beneficial for the sector transport, but we opened a path that has proven to be the most advantageous and economical for canaries and even peninsular in addition to this “ship” now, added.

It is inconceivable that our competitors us “give reason” our choice and opting for Administration and Justice still do not understand, manifest exporters canaries.