The Argentine fruit industry has added a new trading route to its portfolio after cherries from the province of Neuquén were shipped to Hong Kong via airfreight, with a stopover in Miami. Aníbal Caminiti, who coordinates the fine fruit program at the SME-Adeneu Center coordinator, spoke with www.freshfruitportal.com about the initiative which seeks to provide greater care for the fruit in transit and reduce transport times.

Caminiti said the shipment first left the President Perón International Airport of Neuquén with a total of 100 metric tons (MT) of cherries, of which 70% was bound for Hong Kong and the rest was sent to the U.S.

He said the main varieties sent were Lapins and Bings.

""The aim is to develop an alternative to the existing airfreight logistics from Ezeiza Airport, currently with storage capacity limitations for these dates, carrying out operations from Neuquén International Airport in a way that channels directly from the region with an increase in export volumes that are expected to triple by 2018," Caminiti said, highlighting volume would reach about 7,000MT by that year.

"Last year we began with efforts to make the Neuquén Airport operational in terms of air cargo, summoning the various organizations involved and improving the conditions of a hanger as a transfer for fruit destined for the U.S., following the requirements of SENASA (National Agricultural Health and Quality Service) and USDA-APHIS (United States Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service).

"On Nov. 20 work started on a certain proposal from the company TCI Trust Cargo."

He said growers from this Patagonian region could now access international markets directly with early fruit, prior to the massive influx of Chilean cherries at the height of the growing season.

He said companies from the province of Río Negro were also involved in the initiative, and from the two provinces the participating parties were members the Argentine Chamber of Integrated Cherry Growers (CAPCI) such as Vista Alegre SRL, Deffina Cherries, Ceco SA, Cerezas Argentinas SA and Miele SA.

"This initiative puts in movement an airfreight logistics opportunity for the southern part of Argentina that will be benefited with the possibility of working not just with fresh cherries, but also other regional products and from Chile.

TCI Trust Cargo International managing director Daniel Montenegro said a project like this was complex with strict protocols for the types of airplanes involved.

"Cargo of this size had never arrived to carry perishables from the south. The airports there are not designed for these types of operations and this complexity makes it difficult," Montenegro said.

"Paving the way for the first time is always a complicated challenge, and even more so dealing with perishables."

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