1. INTRODUCTION
Leather leaf ferns and other plants are commercially produced in subtropical climates and sea exported. Although these products can be shipped and stored at a wider temperature range than most other products they are extremely sensitive to chilling injury. High temperatures and temperature fluctuation resulting in condensation cannot be tolerated either.
It is vitally important to note that refrigeration will not improve the condition of any product. It can merely maintain the quality for a limited period of time until deterioration begins. For this reason it is imperative that only high quality and fresh products are exported. Apart from the pre-export period, one must always consider that transit times from the RSA to most importing countries are at least two weeks.
Many plant and tree types can favorably be maintained under controlled atmosphere conditions, but the required ideal conditions for a specific type/variety must be known and carefully monitored during the refrigeration storage period.
Refer to the PPECB ISO document HP22 for standard carrying temperatures regimes.
2. PRESHIPMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR LEATHER LEAF FERNS
2.1 The ferns must be pre-cooled as soon as possible after harvest. Best results are obtained when the packed product is under cooling within hours of harvesting, and pre-cooled to the storage temperature within 8 hours.
2.2 The ferns must be transferred immediately from the refrigerated truck (RMT) into the cold store to ensure continuous cooling and to avoid condensation.
2.3 Care must be taken to ensure that the RH (Relative Humidity) in the cold store is maintained within the range of 90% to avoid desiccation.
2.4 The ferns must be as fresh as possible and should not be kept over for a next shipment. Delays in cooling, handling, transport and shipment should be avoided at all times. Any delays that might or did occur must be reported to the respective PPECB Regional Manager in the port, who will liaise with the exporter on possible corrective procedures to be followed.
3. PRESHIPMENT CONDITIONS FOR POT PLANTS AND TREES
The nature of the plants and palms makes it totally impractical to pre-cool them prior to loading into containers. Colder temperatures, normally between plus 4°C and plus 16°C, are applied during transport, mainly to reduce water loss (transpiration) and, to a lesser extent, to control fungal growth.
Pot plants and palms therefore do not have to be pre-cooled prior to loading into containers, The Cold Chain must, however, be maintained from the time pre-cooling is initiated until the product is received by the buyer.
Integral refrigerated containers should have sufficient cooling capacity to cool these products fairly quickly to the optimum carrying temperature because of the big surface to mass ratio and good air distribution around the leaves.
Care must be taken to ensure sufficient water supply during transit. Etiolation will also occur because of no lighting in the container, therefore sufficient time must be allowed after discharge for chlorophyll development.
Below is the list of countries where we deliver / ship. If your country is known by more than one name and the original name that you are looking for is not listed below (e.g. Britain), please look for its alternative names (e.g. United Kingdom).
Search country names starting with the letter:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYZ
A
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- American Samoa
- Andorra
- Angola
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Azores
B
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei Darussalam
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
C
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Christmas Island
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Colombia
- Comoros Islands
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- Congo Democratic Republic
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Croatia
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- Czech Republic
D
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
E
- East Timor
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
F
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Guyana
- French Polynesia
G
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
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- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
H
- Haiti
- Honduras
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I
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
J
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
K
- Kazakhstan
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- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
L
- Laos
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- Luxembourg
M
- Macau
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
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- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
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- Moldova
- Monaco
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- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
N
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Netherlands Antilles
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Niue
- Norfolk Islands
- North Korea
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Norway
O
- Oman
P
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Pitcairn Islands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
Q
- Qatar
R
- Reunion Island
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- Rwanda
S
- Saint Helena
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Saint Vincent
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia And Montenegro
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
T
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Tortola (British Virgin Islands)
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
U
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
V
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Virgin Islands (U.S.)
W
- Wallis and Futuna Islands
- Western Samoa
Y
- Yemen
Z
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe