We are
certainly very
supportive of
the efforts of
the industry
in developing
temperature
monitoring
systems for fresh
produce
Niranjan Navaratnarajah, Cargo
Business Lead, Unisys
Temperature monitoring vital in today’s shipments
certainly of interest, as the
carrier handles large amounts
of fresh fruit and vegetables
from the Indian subcontinent
and South America, for
instance. However, he
questioned how effective it
would be in a low margin
business. Airlines tend to use
fruit and veg as ‘fi ll up’ cargo,
especially out of hot developing
countries, where there is little
other freight to put in the
holds of aircraft returning to
Europe or North America.
The issues in the fruit and
veg trade are rather different
from those in pharma, and he
was not convinced that it was
yet a mature enough market
for a rigorous, standards-based
approach. However, it could
have a role to play in raising
standards in the industry, and
would be welcomed for that,
he added. CEIV had certainly
shown its worth in the pharma
sector, he noted.
Niranjan Navaratnarajah,
Cargo Business Lead at
information technology fi rm
Unisys, who is based in Asia
Pacifi c, can certainly see a
need for the new CEIV Fresh
standard – although he has
yet to be convinced that it will
become as global as CEIV now
is for pharma. He explains:
“In pharma, you need to
track and monitor goods; the
goods are often high value
and the stakes generally are
very high. There are issues
like security to consider. For
fresh produce, I am certainly
not saying there is no need for
standards, but will CEIV Fresh
permeate across the world to
the same extent?”
There are also some
practicalities to consider. In
many produce exporting
countries, there may simply
not be the facilities or
equipment to minutely log
technology will undoubtedly
come down – and Unisys
has been talking to shippers
around the world. “We are
certainly very supportive of
the efforts of the industry
in developing temperaturemonitoring
systems for
fresh produce,” states
Navaratnarajah.
Moreover, the airfreight
industry will not stay still.
While it has been slower
than some others, perhaps,
to develop technological
solutions, the recent rapid
development of devices like
temperature probes and
monitoring systems are
beginning to make things
possible, at a realistic cost, that
would have been unthinkable
only a few years ago.
An important role
IATA is certainly convinced
that the new standard will
have an important role to play
in the airfreight industry of
the future.
“Perishable goods are a
growing market for air cargo.
Ensuring that these delicate
and short shelf life products
reach the customer unspoiled
with minimal waste and loss
is essential. Shippers will
have assurance that CEIV
Fresh certifi ed companies
are operating to the highest
quality and standards in
the transport of perishable
products,” explained
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s
Director General and Chief
Executive Offi cer.
The Airport Authority Hong
Kong, Cathay Pacifi c, Cathay
Pacifi c Services and Hong
Kong Air Cargo Terminals have
meanwhile piloted the fi rst
CEIV Fresh programme.
“We took a community
approach to developing CEIV
Fresh, recognising that the
and maintain shipment
temperature, particularly on
the legs of the journey that are
not under the airline’s control.
And while a temperature
probe might give a consistent
reading for a small phial of
pharmaceuticals, would it work
so well with a large, unevenly
shaped bale of fruit or veg?
Unisys already provides a
Pharma Track solution that
uses temperature probes and
sensors to monitor shipments,
both on the ground and in
fl ight, and has even developed
something similar for pets in
transit; but the jury is still out
on whether it is necessary to go
to such lengths for something
as basic as a sack of beans.
However, for live shellfi sh
or birds’ nest soup destined
for a fi ve-star restaurant, the
economics would certainly
prove more favourable. It
may well be that the air
freighted produce market
will segment into areas
where a high degree of
monitoring is accepted,
and indeed is desirable, and
others where the issue is not
quite so critical.
Equally, as in most other
fi elds, the cost of the sensor
www.airlogisticsinternational.com August 2019 43
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com