Produce Shippers Question Acceptance of Reefer Rate Rise

Higher reefer rates are putting pressure on some produce exporters

Some shippers of perishable goods are protesting refrigerated container (reefer) rate hikes by carriers including Maersk Line, UK supply chain news site The Loadstar reports.

Maersk Line implemented a $1,500 per reefer container general rate increase at the start of the year, and it said recently that the hike has "largely been accepted by the market."

But some produce exporters say the extra costs added by Maersk Line and other shipping companies have presented problems.

"The reefer rate increase has virtually killed off the Far East and Indian markets for us," said a representative of Egyptian fruit exporter Elkady.

"In one case we have been asked to accept an increase of $2,000," a company representative said.

Perishable shippers reported reefer rate increases as low as $200, with Japanese carriers implementing "a $300 increase at the most – a far cry from what Maersk announced at Cool Logistics 2012," said Alfred Cheung, managing director of logistics efficiency advocate Green Society Association.

The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE) has asked carriers to reconsider the increases.

"The rate variation is abrupt and has far-reaching implications for the sector, with limited time to react, adapt to these increases and have them absorbed at once by the supply chain down to consumers," it said.

Last year Maersk Line said it had put billions of dollars worth of investment into research, development, and production of thousands of refrigerated containers each year, far more than any other shipping line, and that the rate rise was a "big call" in which it it expected to result in some loss of market share.