Packhouse to door at the right temperature.
40 ft high-cube reefer
Holds around 20 UK pallets (1200 × 1000 mm) or up to 23–24 Euro pallets, at a set temperature from about −1 °C to +20 °C. Controlled-atmosphere units slow ripening for long voyages (blueberries, avocados).
Belly-hold and freighter
Used for short-life, high-value lines: herbs, fine beans, asparagus, figs, passion fruit, cherries and Alphonso mangoes. Rates are per chargeable kilo, so volumetric weight matters.
Refrigerated trailer
Spain, Morocco and the Netherlands reach the UK by road in 1–5 days via Dover, Eurotunnel, Portsmouth or the North Sea ports. Groupage trailers let several buyers share one truck.
Setpoint, pulp temp and loggers
Every consignment travels with a temperature setpoint and a data logger. We check pulp temperature at loading and on arrival — the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Ethylene rooms
Bananas, avocados and mangoes are ripened in the UK in pressurised rooms. We can deliver hard, pre-conditioned or ready-to-eat, with a colour or firmness spec.
UK hub
Pooled containers are devanned at a chilled consolidation hub, checked, split by customer and delivered on multi-drop chilled transport.
A typical week of pooled consignments.
Illustrative example board — real shipment tracking comes with each programme.
| Product | Origin | Mode | UK entry | Setpoint | Buyers pooled | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hass avocado | Peru | Sea | London Gateway | 5 °C | 6 | On water |
| Fine beans | Kenya | Air | Heathrow | 5 °C | 4 | Landed |
| Navel orange | South Africa | Sea | London Gateway | 4 °C | 9 | On water |
| Blueberries | Peru | Sea | Felixstowe | 0.5 °C | 5 | At BCP check |
| MD2 pineapple | Costa Rica | Sea | Portsmouth | 8 °C | 3 | Loading |
| Vine tomato | Morocco | Road | Dover | 11 °C | 7 | In transit |
| Coriander & mint | Kenya | Air | Heathrow | 1 °C | 11 | Landed |
| Dragon fruit | Vietnam | Sea | Felixstowe | 7 °C | 4 | On water |
Six ways in.
- Felixstowe
Sea - The UK's largest container port; strong for Asia, Egypt and South America.
- London Gateway
Sea - Deep-water port with a dedicated reefer and BCP facility; big for South Africa and Latin America.
- Southampton
Sea - Deep-sea container services and a long history in the fruit trade.
- Portsmouth
Sea & road - Home to weekly dedicated fruit-line sailings from Central America and ferry services from Spain and Morocco.
- Dover & Eurotunnel
Road - The short-straits route for EU and Moroccan road freight, with checks at Sevington BCP.
- Heathrow
Air - The main entry point for air-freighted produce, with specialist perishables handlers.
Every product has its own temperature.
A few degrees wrong means chilling injury or early ripening. These are the setpoints we ship to.
| Product | Setpoint | Freight | Shelf life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avocado | 5–7 °C | Sea | 2–4 weeks at 5 °C (unripened) |
| Mango | 10–13 °C | Sea & air | 2–3 weeks sea-freight · 7–10 days air |
| Banana | 13–14 °C (never below 12 °C) | Sea | Green life 3–4 weeks; 5–7 days after ripening |
| Pineapple | 7–10 °C | Sea | 2–3 weeks |
| Papaya | 7–13 °C | Air & sea | 1–3 weeks |
| Passion fruit | 7–10 °C | Air | 2–3 weeks |
| Dragon fruit | 5–10 °C | Sea & air | 2–4 weeks |
| Coconut | 0–2 °C (young) · ambient (mature) | Sea | 4–8 weeks |
| Orange | 3–8 °C | Sea & road | 4–8 weeks |
| Lemon | 10–13 °C | Sea & road | 4–10 weeks |
| Lime | 9–10 °C | Sea | 3–5 weeks |
| Grapefruit & pomelo | 10–15 °C | Sea | 4–8 weeks |
| Table grapes | −0.5 to 0 °C | Sea & road | 4–8 weeks with SO₂ pad |
| Watermelon | 10–15 °C | Sea & road | 2–3 weeks |
| Melon | 3–10 °C (variety dependent) | Sea & road | 1–3 weeks |
| Blueberry | 0–1 °C | Sea & air | 4–6 weeks sea-freight (controlled atmosphere) |
| Strawberry | 0–1 °C | Road & air | 5–7 days |
| Raspberry & blackberry | 0 °C | Road & air | 3–6 days |
| Cherry | −0.5 to 0 °C | Air & sea | 2–4 weeks |
| Apple | 0–4 °C | Sea | Months from controlled-atmosphere store |
| Pear | −1 to 0 °C | Sea | Months in store |
| Kiwifruit | 0 °C | Sea | 8–12 weeks (keep away from ethylene) |
| Pomegranate | 5–7 °C | Sea | 6–8 weeks |
| Fig | 0–2 °C | Air & road | 5–10 days |
| Dates | 0–5 °C (fresh Medjool) · ambient (dried) | Sea | Months |
| Tomato | 10–13 °C | Road & sea | 1–3 weeks |
| Sweet pepper | 7–10 °C | Road | 2–3 weeks |
| Chilli | 7–10 °C | Air & road | 2–3 weeks |
| Onion | 0–2 °C, dry (65–70 % RH) | Sea & road | Months if cured |
| Garlic | 0 °C, dry | Sea & road | Months |
| Ginger | 13 °C | Sea | Months if cured |
| Sweet potato | 13–15 °C | Sea | 2–4 months if cured |
| Asparagus | 0–2 °C, high humidity | Air | 1–2 weeks |
| Fine beans & mangetout | 4–7 °C | Air | 7–10 days |
| Broccoli & brassicas | 0 °C, iced | Road | 2–3 weeks |
| Fresh herbs | 0–2 °C (basil 10–12 °C) | Air | 5–10 days |
Tell us what you buy.
We'll show you what pooling could save — every cost on its own line.
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