Bananas for Azerbaijan

Banana growers in Ecuador used to face a complex problem: the only way for their bananas to reach consumers in Azerbaijan was by air.

A new development from Maersk Container Industry (MCI) - its Star Cool Controlled Atmosphere (CA) - has changed this. With the Star Cool CA, banana producers soon saw potential travel time increase from 20 to 45 days, enabling them to ship by sea. Bananas from the Matanuska Farm in Mozambique’s Nacala region, for instance, can now reach markets in Europe and Asia. Banana exporters in Ecuador can now access consumers in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Four years after it was first released, more than 25,000 Star Cool CA reefers are in action around the world on several major reefer container lines in both Asia and Europe.

The Star Cool CA technology is based on a simple design. During transport, the biological respiration processes within the cargo will consume the container’s oxygen. Star Cool CA controls this process with a membrane filter. The filter releases the excess CO₂, which in some cases can damage the cargo if left uncontrolled.

“We took a technology well known from other contexts and developed it further,” said Gert Jorgensen, head of MCI’s research and development section. “Star Cool CA uses a permeable membrane and a vacuum pump to extract excess CO₂ from the cargo.”

“More customers will be able to use CA because the acquisition cost is relatively low,” said Anders G Holm of MCI’s sales and marketing team. “They will also save money on operations as cost per trip is kept to a minimum.”

The technology is suitable for use with a wide range of high-respiring fruits and vegetables, such as asparagus, mango and avocado.

MCI has developed an animation to explain the Star Cool CA technology. The animation is available on Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/75013237.