HAROPA PORT has set out its goals to develop fruit & vegetable imports citing increased demand for the transport of these perishable goods.

In a statement, the 5th largest port in northern Europe noted that historically, maritime services dedicated to fruit & vegetable traffic have centred on exports.

"HAROPA PORT is now setting out to win market share to consolidate its position on imports of both container and conventional freight, especially for trade with Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa," it said.

The French gateway noted that EU directives and CSR pressure for the decarbonisation of activities, plus rising diesel prices, are increasingly leading importers to question their usual ways of doing things and seek out new logistics solutions.

For this segment, HAROPA PORT noted that it has partnered with global specialist in controlled-temperature food logistics, Seafrigo and Primever, a transport, transit and international logistics operator specialising in fruit & vegetables.

HAROPA cited key advantages for importing fresh fruit & vegetables through the gateway, including its proximity to France's Rungis national wholesale market, the world's biggest for farm products, and the Greater Paris area, the biggest consumer market in France and the second biggest in Europe.

It also noted the interconnection with two international airports, Orly and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, Europe's leading airport for freight, and a  fast-developing port complex that already brings together over 50 freight forwarders specialising in reefer transport, providing value-added services and with access to a dedicated refrigeration installed base managed by the largest logistics firms.

HAROPA said the overall storage capacity currently totals 1.1m cu. m., and there's real estate capable of accommodating the setting up of refrigerated logistics warehousing facilities.

The port terminals are also equipped with dedicated facilities applying a specific reefer protocol, HAROPA added.

"[There's also a ] major potential for the development of multimodality on the Seine Axis (Le Havre – Rouen – Paris), enabling the ecological footprint of operators using this logistics corridor to be reduced," the gateway added.