Port of Antwerp says that a growing number of reefer services from Latin America now call first at Antwerp. This resulted in strong expansion of 7.2% in the volume of reefer containers in 2019, according to the Port.
Last year saw a record for the seventh year in a row at the port, with growth of 1.2% and a total freight volume of 238 million tonnes of cargo. During the past year the port once again experienced strong growth in perishables, handling a total of 871,757 TEU of reefer containers, up 7.2% compared with the previous year.
This rapid progression is the consequence of the increasing number of reefer services from Latin America choosing Antwerp as their first port of call in Europe, according to the Port. Latin America is the world’s largest exporter of perishables to Europe.
The port authority says that its key central location and its experienced services are an advantage. The favourable position offers shippers short transit times for perishables on their way to large markets in Europe and the high-standards of service provides customers with fast and high-quality unloading and storage.
“Far-reaching digitisation such as the ViSiGiP platform also allows shippers to visually follow the reporting and inspection process at the border inspection post, which in turn makes for a simpler, more efficient process,” read a port statement.
“Recently the Flemish government took a crucial decision for construction of additional container handling capacity in the Port of Antwerp, so that sufficient handling capability will be assured in future to cope with the strong growth in freight volume.”
