Bridging the gap between food production and perishable logistics

LONDON, 15.06.2015 - Food demand and price patterns can have a critical impact on perishable logistics and transport productivity.  Thought-provoking presentations by Paul Bosch, food and agriculture supply chain analyst at Rabobank and Steve Wiggins from the UK-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) will set the tone for the 7th Cool Logistics Global Conference in Bruges, 29 September - 1 October.

Rabobank is the world's leading financial service provider for the food and agri sector. Attempting to bridge the gap between the world of food and logistics, Mr Bosch will provide a unique perspective on the global food economy, covering a range of issues such as weather patterns, demographic shifts and trade barriers. As one of the authors of a recent ODI report on the rising cost of a healthy diet, Steve Wiggins has reviewed the increasing discrepancy between fresh produce and processed food prices in key emerging markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Korea and China. The report suggests a tax on 'less healthy foods' in combination with subsidies for fruit and vegetables implying that this may halt the effects of the looming obesity crisis, not just in emerging economies but also in the developed world. "These are vital factors for helping global food production as well as the combined transport and logistics sector to revisit and improve the deployment of capacity and technology along the perishable supply chain," says Alex von Stempel, Managing Director, Cool Logistics Resources Ltd. Adding a very particular flavour to Cool Logistics this year, Chayenne Wiskerke, Managing Director of JWK Wiskerke Onions, Netherland's premier onion exporter, will join the opening session of the conference together with Alexis Michel, Group Logistics and Reefer Senior Vice President of CMA CGM. Who would have thought that the Netherlands export more onions than China, the world's leading producer? '150,000 tonnes of onions fill a lot of reefer containers and trucks,' says Wiskerke. "From West Africa to Panama and even China, Dutch onions are increasingly prized as a vital ingredient to local dishes, especially as local production in these countries is insufficient to keep up with demand," she adds. Considered as 'paying return cargo' by shipping lines operating on South-North trade routes, fresh onions represent a rare yet steady and eminently plannable commodity for carriers eager to reposition reefer boxes to Southern Hemisphere export regions during peak season. Following last year's key-note at Cool Logistics about how CMA CGM was combining carrier service profitability with investment in high technology reefer container fleets, Mr Michel will provide a sequel, joining Ole Schack Petersen, Global Head of Commercial, Reefer Management at Maersk Line on the oceanfreight panel debate at the end of the first day of the conference. CMA CGM, the world's third largest reefer container carrier, is keen to remain at the forefront of technological and operational improvements developing new perishable supply chain synergies. As in previous years, Cool Logistics Global will provide three days packed with high level debates and tailor-made sessions on commercial, operational and technical challenges, covering all angles of perishable logistics, including the latest thinking about how bottlenecks at sea, land or air can be resolved in the future.