Along with the growth of the fresh produce industry in Morocco, the ecosystem of services to farmers and exporters is growing in the country. The fresh produce handling sector, including post-harvest operations, is one of the pillars of this ecosystem. Dounia El Hamoumi, sales director of Ideapack, exclusive distributor of Greenkeeper products in Morocco, shares with us her understanding of the needs of producers and exporters when it comes to handling fresh produce.
“We found that industry players face a number of challenges in handling fresh produce, particularly during post-harvest operations. These multi-faceted challenges range from traceability of operations to product storage perishable products taking into account natural and human parameters, through to meeting the rigorous and constantly evolving requirements of destination markets. Mastering all these parameters has become an integral part of this industry, but what is exciting is. that it also contains opportunities unprecedented quality improvement, process efficiency and cost reduction I would even say that it is as important as production itself.
Dounia continues: “More concretely, we have identified three key needs on which we can intervene alongside our customers, by providing them with the most recent and most effective solutions available on the global market:
- Technology and digitalization of post-harvest operations: We see a growing demand for product traceability, particularly in European and international markets, driving the adoption of innovative technologies to provide digital traceability and monitor temperature conditions and moisture during transport and storage.
- Innovation in the storage and handling of fresh produce, where our company intervenes, for example, to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, especially those that are sensitive to oxidation or humidity, such as red fruits, citrus fruits, melon or apples…
- Adapting to the requirements of new markets, beyond the European Union, to include markets such as the United States, the Gulf countries and China, in terms of handling, transport and documentation.
“We therefore work on upgrading our clients’ infrastructures according to these parameters and needs, and on training their teams, which is important to reduce costs and preserve the quality of fresh products until their arrival at the end customer”, assures Dounia.
IdeaPack’s spearhead, according to Dounia, is its ethylene absorption solutions, whose “impact in terms of reducing waste and extending shelf life is crystal clear of rock”. Ethylene can cause premature ripening and spoilage of fresh produce, exposed to it in cold storage, during handling or transportation – in other words, all the time. By using ethylene absorbents, we can slow down the ripening process and extend the shelf life of products. From an economic perspective, we offer exporters an efficient way to reduce volume losses and deliver more products in good condition to destination markets. Improving quality allows exporters to obtain better prices and improve their competitiveness. It also allows them to reduce logistics costs, particularly those related to storage and express transportation. Our customers who have adopted these solutions not only see a reduction in costs, but also a reduction in complaints.”
Dounia adds: “Fresh produce, from this point of view, has two life phases, maturation and aging, and these life phases take place after harvest. Our solutions allow exporters to extend these phases as much as possible. Conservation also differs depending on the product, which may or may not be climacteric. As an exclusive distributor, we bring to our customers the expertise of our partner GreenKeeper Iberia in the preservation of all types of fresh products, and help them to. get rid of the ethylene puzzle”.
During the post-harvest process, Moroccan fresh produce exporters often face disputes related to cold chain breakdowns during transportation and delivery, and lack of supporting documents. Dounia explains: “This is one of the needs often expressed by our customers. Exporters need to access and record temperature and humidity during the journey of their products, thus strengthening their position in the event of a dispute with customers or insurers There are several solutions for delayed recording of temperature and humidity. In addition to these solutions, we offer our customers the possibility of accessing these parameters in real time.
For more information:
Dounia El Hamoumi
Idea Pack
Tel: +212 661-874859
[email protected]
