As from January 7th Chiquita will no longer unload bananas in Antwerp, but will instead unload at Kloosterboer in Vlissingen. This decision is a direct result of the take-over by the Brazilian juice giant Cutrale-Safra. Chiquita have been unloading bananas at Antwerp for 33 years.
Chiquita is currently the only company who has chosen Vlissingen. According to Franklin Ginus, director of Chiquita Benelux there are various advantages involved in the change. "By changing ports and shortening the distance we can unload as much as four days faster. In addition, the handling of loads in Vlissingen will be faster. Through more accurate arrivals we can add more value to the chain."
"In addition Kloosterboer has made an offer which our new owner could not turn down. Due to this it all went pretty fast and in a fairly short period of time the choice fell upon Vlissingen," continues Franklin. "Not only the price played a role, but also the sustainable management of Kloosterboer, where the energy for the warehouse facilities is generated by wind turbines."
Source: Freshplaza.nl