The trade-offs between speed, cost and shelf life when shipping avocados, pineapples, passion fruit and more.
East Africa is landlocked in places and a long voyage from Europe by sea, so the choice between air freight and reefer containers shapes both landed cost and the condition of the fruit on arrival.
When air freight makes sense
Highly perishable or high-value lines — passion fruit, papaya, soursop, fresh herbs, matooke — usually travel by air. Transit is measured in days, which protects quality but carries a much higher cost per kilogram.
When reefer containers make sense
Avocados harvested at the right dry-matter maturity, bananas harvested green, and pineapples can often travel by reefer, provided pre-cooling, temperature settings and transit time are planned carefully. Sea freight lowers cost per kilogram and suits larger, recurring programmes.
Questions to settle early
- What maturity or ripeness stage do you need on arrival?
- What is the realistic door-to-door transit time, including inland legs?
- Who is responsible for temperature monitoring, and what records will you receive?