Shipping agriculture commodities from wherever you are to many parts of the world comes with a number of benefits, requirements, and guidelines that must be followed at all times to ensure a successful operation.
Whether you’re exporting solid minerals, agricultural goods, or petroleum products, you must follow criteria to guarantee that everything runs well. As a result, you must adhere to a set of best practices from beginning to end.
While exporting minerals and petroleum is easy, handling agricultural products requires even more care because a minor error might damage the entire shipment before it reaches its destination. Companies like Agrostore are well-informed about this.
If you already shop or plan to transport food-based items, here are some crucial agri expert things you should know about shipping agricultural products:
Important points to keep in mind:
- Maintain the moisture levels:
Moisture levels should not exceed 10% to prevent agricultural or farm products from deteriorating quickly. When the moisture content of most agricultural commodities exceeds 10%, their quality begins to deteriorate quickly, and the entire consignment may perish within 2 to 3 weeks, leading the importer and/or exporter to lose their entire investment.
Before exporting any agricultural product, make sure it is well-dried and has a moisture level of less than 10%; otherwise, the entire commodity may spoil before it arrives at the delivery port.
- Fumigating the shipping container:
It is necessary as insects can damage agricultural supplies. If left unchecked, they regard it as a plentiful meal and will reproduce and consume as much of the goods as possible.
Before shipping any agricultural consignment, ensure that the container is fumigated using a fumigation gel and that the gel is removed within 3 days of sealing the container. If the goods arrive at the port of delivery with pest infestation, customs will destroy them, and you will be responsible for all associated charges.
- The chemical compositions must match the agreed-upon specifications:
When an importer and an exporter reach an agreement for the supply of agricultural produce, a set of quality criteria and some chemical specifications based on the importer’s intended purpose for the items are typically agreed upon. This is also applicable to agri products online shopping.
If you are shipping agricultural products based on an agreed-upon set of chemical compositions, you must ensure that the products meet the standards; otherwise, you should merely consent to physical examination.
- Use the appropriate packaging method for the product:
Packaging rules vary depending on the agricultural commodity. Others require that they be packed in cans, others in jute bags, others in mesh bags, and the great majority in PPE bags. You can also do crop management for packing based on the weight of the crops.
Understanding the quality of the goods you’re sending and the necessary packaging requirements is critical to ensuring that you don’t damage the goods when packaging them and that you meet the packaging criteria of the country you’re shipping to.
- The goods must be transported in the correct shipping container:
Depending on whether you are sending fresh or dry foods, you must pack the commodities in the appropriate shipping container. If you’re shipping fresh (hundred) agricultural items, you’ll need to load them in a reefer container. This container functions similarly to a freezer and keeps the contents chilled until they get to their destination, although it is far more expensive to operate. If you’re transporting dry food, you can utilize a general-purpose shipping container for your shipment.