Add juicy red grapes to the bounty of perishable Peruvian imports coming into Savannah’s Garden City Terminal, which boasts a refrigerated cargo infrastructure unmatched at any other East Coast port.
“Savannah currently handles avocados, citrus and sweet onions from Peru,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz. “With the introduction of Peruvian red globe grapes, we are now receiving all of the category leaders from Peru.”
The GPA’s massive container terminal now has 104 refrigerated cargo racks plus another 738 plug-ins for containers on chassis. At 24 container slots per rack, it has the on-terminal ability to power a total of 3,234 chilled containers at a time, according to Chris Logan, GPA senior director of trade development for beneficial cargo owner sales.
With more than 830,000 square feet of private cold storage surrounding the port, the GPA and private industry have the infrastructure to support the growing cold cargo business moving through Georgia, Logan said.
That, too, is growing, as existing facilities see the need for expansion. Another 300,000 square feet of private cold storage space is currently under development.
Companies already growing their footprint — or planning to do so in the near future — include:
• Gulf States Cold Storage, currently 155,000 square feet
• Lineage Logistics I, currently 250,000 square feet
• Lineage Logistics II, currently 225,000 square feet
• Nordic Cold storage, currently 200,000 square feet.
The grapes, moved from Andean Sun Produce farms in Ica and Piura, Peru, are part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program in which citrus fruits, grapes and blueberries are chilled for at least 17 days prior to entry into the U.S. The cold treatment removes potential pests, thus reducing the need for pesticides.
Bringing the fruit into Savannah is a win-win, Foltz said, resulting in a fresher product for end users as well as lower supply chain costs for shippers.
“By landing produce in Savannah, buyers can take advantage of much shorter and faster overland transportation to Atlanta and other major markets across the U.S. Southeast,” he said.
The grapes are grown along the coast of Peru with early varieties grown in the northern part of the country and later-ripening varieties in southern Peru.
“Weather conditions in Peru allow them to grow and harvest grapes throughout the year,” said Edward Villar of Andean Sun Produce. “But because of market needs our season goes from October to December in the north and from January to March in the south.”
Andean Sun Produce, based in Miami, is the U.S. marketing agent under the “Gold Cup” brand on behalf of La Calera and Talsa, two large Peruvian growers of citrus, blueberries, avocados, grapes and mangos. For their trial run on grapes, Atlanta-based produce wholesaler J.J. Jardina brought in the red globe variety, using the Port of Savannah to save time and freight costs.
“It is nice to have only a four-hour truck ride to Atlanta versus a day and half from the Philadelphia ports,” said company spokesman Matt Jardina. “It allows us to get the product into our warehouse more quickly and begin selling the grapes a few days earlier.”
Villar added that Andean Sun plans to move all their varieties of red and green seedless grapes through the port, adding that he is pleased to add Savannah as an entry point for southeastern markets.
“The GPA approached us a few months ago and explained the benefits of working with them,” he said. “They have been very proactive, coordinating with CBP, trucking companies and even customers. Logistics in our business is becoming crucial; the Port of Savannah is a good alternative for us to serve not only our Georgia customers, but other customers in surrounding states.
“We will continue to use the Port of Savannah for our summer citrus season, and we are close to starting with blue berries.”
Villar said the USDA program to allow cold-treated produce to enter through more U.S. ports will relieve congestion at older ports of entry, while shortening the supply chain between producers and final consumers.
“Our goal is to deliver our fruit to our clients faster, fresher and at competitive prices, cutting logistics costs,” he said.
In addition to its location near important Southeast markets, the Port of Savannah also offers efficient on-terminal services, according to Logan.
“We’ve worked with Customs and the USDA to ensure inspection capabilities are all in place so we can offload a vessel, inspect it and get it out in six hours,” he said.
“We’re optimistic that the strong success we’ve had in receiving perishables will only encourage more perishables in the future.”
