OPPORTUNITIES within the Asian persishable market will help alleviate difficulties facing shipping lines, according to Michael Looten, maritime director of the Seabury Group maritime consultancy.
In fact, it is the perishables trade that will be the driver of the reefer market in 2015 with 43 per cent originating in China, with China-Asia trade lanes along with many other intra-Asia trade lanes, already highly containerised.
"Thus there is not going to be a hugh portion of business that you can win back to conventional reefer operations," he said.
"Potential exceptions to that are exports to Malaysia and Vietnam. For Vietnam is will mostly be short distance trades and not something that requires a lot of additional equipment. China to Malaysia offer some opportunities as well," he said.
In terms of the commodities involved in the intra-Asia reefer trade, garlic occupied the largest share of the market, followed by potatoes, bovine meat, cuttlefish, mackerel and cabbage.
Citrus fruit and poultry offer the most interesting prospects for containerisation growth, according to Mr Looten, reported Asia Cargo News.
CMA CGM vice president Lars Kastrup said his company's reefer business unit has a fleet of 200,000 reefer boxes, and loaded 821,000 TEU last year.
This means that on average the Marseille-based French shipping giant fills its reefer containers with reefer cargo less than five times a year, according to , senior vice president of Asia, CMA CGM.
"This is one of the challenges that we, along with the whole industry have," said Mr Kastrup. "We don't use our equipment well enough."
But trends support growth. he said, and CMA CGM sees the reefer trade growing a 6.5 per cent a year as opposed to the slowing growth rate of conventional containerisation.
"As carriers we do realise that we have a responsibility to continue to develop the reefer business," said Mr Kapstrup.
"We, together with the industry, still need to work on innovation and creativity to offer new products, and we look forward to that," he said.
WORLD SHIPPING
16 October 2015 - 19:36
Intra-Asia perishables to drive 6.5pc annual reefer growth in 2015
OPPORTUNITIES within the Asian persishable market will help alleviate difficulties facing shipping lines, according to Michael Looten, maritime director of the Seabury Group maritime consultancy.
WORLD SHIPPING
16 October 2015 - 19:36
Intra-Asia perishables to drive 6.5pc annual reefer growth in 2015
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