A decision from Chiquita North America early last year to ship bananas directly to Los Angeles has helped Mexico's Port Chiapas record exponential growth in container movement, T21 reports.

Chiapas Integral Port Administration (API) Director General Mario Levet Vega told the publication the port hit a record of 47,702 TEU (20ft equivalent) containers in 2017, compared to just 264 in 2016.

"The bananas are crops from Chiapas. We are a highly productive zone with 13,000 hectares of bananas. The greatest distance is around 50-60km (31-37mi) from the port," Levet Vega was quoted as saying.

The story reported refrigerated containers from Chiapas could reach the United States in a week, with the port offering connection to a central electricity grid so as to avoid any interruptions in the cold chain.

Levet Vega told T21 Chiquita's own ships arrived on Wednesdays, unloaded empty containers and loaded up export containers within 24 hours, setting sail on Thursdays.

"The arrival of Chiquita Banana with more or less 52 arrivals a year, practically one per week, gave substantial growth to the Chiapas Port," the port representative said, adding the group also moved some containers of coffee grown in the region.

www.freshfruitportal.com