Growing geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz once again highlight the extreme logistical fragility of the international supply chain for fruits and vegetables. While much of the public debate focuses on oil, fuels and energy, the produce sector faces a more discreet but particularly serious threat: weather.
In the fresh produce business, every hour counts. Cargo delays at ports, transit disruptions or changes in maritime routes directly affect the shelf life of fresh produce. Fruits and vegetables held up longer in ports lose firmness, commercial quality and storability, increasing complaints, food waste and economic losses for producers and exporters.
The situation around Hormuz is not only putting pressure on global shipping; it also affects vessel availability, increases logistics costs and complicates commercial planning during campaigns where speed is essential. For a sector heavily dependent on logistics efficiency, uncertainty becomes a structural risk factor.
Furthermore, the fresh produce sector plays a strategic role in global food security. Ensuring the supply of fresh, healthy and accessible products depends on stable and predictable supply chains. When international conflicts block or slow these flows, the impact goes beyond exporting companies and also affects consumers and destination markets.
When logistics ceases to be predictable
The pressure placed on supply chains is already having visible effects on several global fresh produce export corridors.
In South Africa, exporters and operators in the sector report that some refrigerated containers now take between 10 and 14 days to leave the port of Cape Town, compared to around 4 days in a normal situation. These delays, compounded by operational congestion and unfavorable weather conditions, caused an accumulation of fruit in refrigeration facilities and disruptions in commercial programs.
But the problem is not limited to southern Africa. Peruvian exporters have also faced congestion at European ports like Rotterdam, particularly affecting sensitive products such as blueberries and table grapes, whose quality depends on extremely tight logistics windows.
At the same time, international logistics operators warn that some maritime diversions and route changes are adding up to 10 extra days to some refrigerated shipments, forcing the industry to rethink ways to protect fruit quality in the face of increasingly long transit times. unpredictable.
The most vulnerable fruits: table grapes and red fruits
In this context of logistical uncertainty, table grapes and red fruits are among the most exposed and vulnerable products. These are also two of the highest value categories in international markets, but also among the most sensitive to any disruption in transit times.
Unlike other products, these fruits are very tolerant of prolonged delays in ports or during maritime transport. Water loss, dehydration, reduced firmness and rot development can accelerate rapidly when the supply chain loses stability.
In many cases, the difference between arriving in optimal condition and heavy economic losses depends directly on the post-harvest strategy originally implemented. Today, maintaining the cold chain remains a basic requirement, but is no longer sufficient on its own to guarantee the preservation of commercial quality.
The new logistics reality requires exporters to strengthen their post-harvest programs with solutions capable of preserving freshness, firmness and shelf life, even in scenarios where transit times are no longer predictable.
Citrus and apple situation
Although citrus fruits and apples have a longer shelf life, they are not immune to the problem.
Prolonged delays can reduce freshness, increase the risk of physiological disorders and limit commercial shelf life at destination. In addition, each additional day in storage or in transit increases the financial pressure on exporters, importers and distributors.
Post-harvest becomes a key factor
The global fresh produce industry is entering a phase where logistical uncertainty is no longer an exception but a structural component of international trade.
Geopolitical events, port congestion, changes in shipping routes and climate disruptions will continue to affect export predictability. This situation is forcing the sector to rethink the way post-harvest programs are designed today.
