Italy: Port of Livorno loses banana trade

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

14 Nov 2011

The port of Livorno lost banana trade. The U.S. multinational Dole, historic customer of Livorno port wharfs, will use the ports of Civitavecchia and La Spezia in 2012, with a different transport

system compared to the current one, ie sending bananas in refrigerated containers instead of banana ships.
Of the annual 90,000 tons of fruit handled in Livorno, there will remain little or nothing. This is a shame because Livorno now has a modern and very expensive Reefer Terminal.
A month ago, Dole announced to customers that South American bananas will be shipped in the Mediterranean Sea with containers.
Dole Ocean Cargo Express service (Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Valencia, Livorno) will end this month. From December, the fruit will come in containers. Dole Europe probably will entrust shipping company Msc from South America, but the news is not official yet. Unfortunately, the Msc service from South America does not have Livorno as a port of call, but only Civitavecchia and La Spezia ports.
In any case the Port Company signed an agreement with Dole in 2009, that bound Dole for five years to Livorno. The president of the company, Enzo Raugei, in his recent mission to Hamburg, has threatened legal action. The hope for Livorno port is that Dole will lead some of the goods landed in La Spezia and will empty containers at Reefer Terminal. Without the Ecuadorian bananas, it is almost empty.
Source: Port of Livorno