Cover image · Sanity asset field
A fresh tomato harvested correctly and packed at the right temperature can travel 1,000 km and arrive in perfect condition. The same tomato, held at 28°C for four hours during a border delay, can lose 30% of its shelf life — and therefore its market value. The cold chain is not about trucks. It is about every link between picking and purchase.
The five critical control points
- Field temperature at harvest — Early morning harvest (before 8am) is standard practice for export-grade produce. Field heat significantly shortens shelf life.
- Pre-cooling at the packhouse — Produce should reach its target storage temperature within 2 hours of harvest. Forced-air cooling is preferred for tomatoes.
- Refrigerated transport — Reefer trucks should be pre-cooled before loading. Load temperature should be verified, not assumed.
- Border clearance point — This is the most common cold chain break. If customs clearance takes more than 2–3 hours, produce needs shade and ideally temporary cold storage. Shuri Agro uses a cold room at the Ressano Garcia crossing.
- Receiver handover — Temperature at handover is the buyer's first quality check. We provide a continuous temperature log for every Shuri Agro shipment.
What buyers look for
MIF buyers increasingly require temperature logs as part of the delivery documentation. Buyers in the premium tier require cold chain certification. Building this capability now positions Mozambican producers for the premium market segment that offers the best long-term pricing.
Tags
cold chainlogisticsqualityrefrigeration