You have started your fruit business with the perfect business idea, and now you are ready to take the next step which will be maximizing your value chain. There is more to starting a business than just registering it with the state as you have already found out.

We have put together this simple guide to help you get the most out of your fruit business. These steps will ensure that your business is well planned out, registered properly, and legally compliant.

• How to Become a Fruit & Vegetable Trader
• Fruit and Vegetable Trader Skills and Duties
• Creating a Fruit and Vegetable Business Plan
• How can I Improve my Fruit Business?
• Is Selling Fruits a Good Business?
• How to Start a Profitable Juice Business
• How to Maximize your Fruit Trade Business Value Chain

How to Become a Fruit & Vegetable Trader

Farmers have a lot on their plate with successfully planting, nurturing and harvesting their crops. Many do not have the time to also take on the job of marketing their vegetable or fruit business to potential buyers. Therefore, farmers typically outsource this task to a fruit and vegetable trader, also known as a broker, merchant, dealer or grower’s agent, according to the USDA.

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Fruit and vegetable traders serve as the “middlemen” for farmers and wholesale buyers. Traders develop relationships with both sides of the market: producers trust traders to sell their fruits and vegetables for the highest price possible, whereas buyers trust traders to procure quality fruits and vegetables for a fair price.

Fruit and vegetable traders can work on an international or corporate scale, or they can assist farmers in selling their vegetables on a local scale, such as at farmers’ markets, to restaurant owners or to co-ops.

To pursue a career in the vegetable or fruit business, it can be helpful to have a degree in business, marketing or even agriculture.

But strictly speaking, a particular degree isn’t necessary to start your own business as a fruit or vegetable trader, but a higher education can help you secure a position at an existing company. In turn, working for another trader can help you gain the hands-on experience that will inform your own fruit and vegetable business plan.

Fruit and Vegetable Trader License Requirements

The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) requires all fruit and vegetable traders to register with the USDA. Your PACA license protects you and ensures you get paid as a broker, but it also protects your buyers and ensures they receive the fruits and vegetables they paid for.

According to the USDA, a valid PACA license indicates that you uphold your contractual obligations, including making prompt payments when necessary. Poor vegetable or fruit business practices could result in a fine and/or in revocation of your license.

You must have a PACA license if you buy or sell more than 2,000 pounds of fresh produce in a day. According to the USDA, if you’re a broker handling the sale of only frozen produce, you do not need a PACA license until the annual value of the contract exceeds $230,000.

Obtaining a PACA license is relatively straightforward, but it does require a somewhat expensive annual fee. Fill out a form at the USDA website and be prepared to pay $995 for the license and $600 for each additional branch location that you operate.

Fruit and Vegetable Trader Skills and Duties

Becoming a fruit and vegetable trader requires sales experience, relationship-building skills and knowledge of the seasonal nature of the fresh produce market. A good fruit and vegetable trader knows they’ve been hired to ease some of the farmer’s stress. Therefore, they should be capable of working independently, while also understanding when it’s appropriate to seek the farmer’s input or permission, especially when required by PACA.

Fruit and vegetable traders receive a commission from the purchase price of the produce. They’re responsible for marketing the product to find a buyer, closing the sale and handling any customer complaints after the sale.

They should not over-hype a product or over-promise yields. A fruit and vegetable trader is successful when they can deliver the exact product the buyer expects, which in turn means the trader’s quality is directly affected by the farmer’s quality.

All of the duties expected by the farmer, trader and buyer must be outlined in contracts for the legal protection of everyone involved. Failure to uphold these contractual obligations could result in the loss of the trader’s PACA license.

Under PACA, it’s also the trader’s responsibility to keep detailed records of the produce and accounts. Keeping such records can also protect you in the event that you’re audited by the USDA after a buyer or grower submits a dispute.

Creating a Fruit and Vegetable Business Plan

Before you spend money getting a PACA license, write up a fruit and vegetable business plan so that you can hit the ground running. This plan should fully explain how your business will operate and list all expenses and foreseen sources of income.

It should answer “who, what, when, where, why, how, and how much” for all facets of your future business. A well-researched business plan will reveal any weaknesses or gaps that should be addressed before you invest startup funds.

One of the most important things to figure out right away is the kind of farmer or produce you want to work with. Try to narrow your focus on just one or two fruits or vegetables at first so that you can become an expert in those markets.

Think about whether you want to specialize in organic produce, greenhouse-grown tropical produce, or other fruits and vegetables that have unique selling points. It’s easiest to work with farmers in your local region so that you can build face-to-face relationships and inspect their produce in person as well.

Do you plan to run your business on your own? If you need to hire staff, describe their positions in your business plan. You’ll probably benefit from hiring an accountant if you are not trained in this area. Having a lawyer on retainer is also a smart move.

Marketing to Your Buyers

Next, think about the buyers who would be interested in your chosen fruits and vegetables. Are they individuals, restaurants, local grocers, processing facilities or corporate grocers? Do they exist locally, regionally, nationally or internationally? Starting local is often easier than jumping right into the highly competitive international sphere because – as with local farmers – you’ll have the opportunity to nurture relationships face-to-face.

Choosing a unique way to sell to buyers can also give you a competitive edge. For example, you might supply the produce for local door-to-door delivery of vegetables and fruits. Or, you might be responsible for procuring local fruits and vegetables for a new farm-to-table restaurant. Research the market to find out if there’s sufficient demand for your idea.

It’s also important to figure out the type of buyers you’ll target so that you can create an appropriate marketing campaign to reach them. For example, corporate grocers might require you to submit bids and be rather impervious to traditional marketing tactics, whereas individuals can develop brand recognition and loyalty through social media efforts.

Don’t discount the importance of having a website regardless of who your target buyers are, since a web presence can increase the perceived legitimacy of your company.

Developing a Budget for Your Fruit Business

Another crucial section to include in your business plan is the working budget. You need to consider not only how you’ll make money, but how you’ll make a profit. This requires a line-by-line analysis of all the expenses – both one-time and ongoing – that will accrue as you start and manage your business.

Yes, this requires some time to research and finalize, but you need an accurate estimate to decide whether you can move forward with your business plan.

Your ultimate goal is to do such a good job of trading fruits and vegetables that you make enough money to pay all your business expenses while also raking in a tidy salary for yourself. But to get there, you may need some startup funds.

After you create an initial budget detailing your expenses, you can approach investors and financial institutions to secure enough funding to launch your business. Don’t forget to then add “loan repayment” into your budget as an expense.

How can I Improve my Fruit Business?

Fresh fruit and vegetable growers are confronted currently with a situation of low prices and increasing costs. Margins become smaller, to the point that they make production unattractive as a business. Some even consider shifting to an alternative business.

To correct this situation there are basically two alternatives:

a) increase sales, through alternative channels or products
b) make my production more efficient, that is, produce more with less

Several marketing and produce quality tools allow producers to maintain a competitive advantage. Here we list seven easy and effective marketing techniques that can have an impact in improving the financial results of the fresh produce business in the short term.

1. Show your clients how they can benefit from increased sales through point-of-sale retail tests
Real point-of-sale market tests will demonstrate how certain attractive and innovative products will increase sales per sqm. and profitability. A price-demand curve can also be tested to optimize revenue

2. Provide additional information together with the product
For certain generic crops, it is hard to differentiate based on product only. This is more often the case with vegetables. Providing additional information with the product to the retail customer and end-consumer allows for a certain differentiation and can weigh in the purchase decision.

3. Establish a good harvest forecasting system
A reliable harvest forecasting system allows the scheduling of sales and special offers with retail clients. This forecasting system allows the integration of the client in the harvest planning, smoothing out production peaks and avoiding excess inventories and old fruit in storage.

Efficient forecasting systems collect field information periodically regarding fruit evolution and available volumes. These models are corrected daily, inputting field temperature and other data.

4. Work together with clients to program sales during the whole season
Linked to the point above, a good forecasting system allows for sales planning and accurate delivery of agreed upon volumes and quality, making happy clients.

5. Deliver the fruit at the optimum ripeness at the retail store, always
Optimum maturity at harvests maximizes field productivity (kilograms per hectare) as well as fruit quality. Ripe fruit has more sugars, better color and more juiciness. Leading producers can deliver fruit at the optimum ripeness through adequate harvest, packing, cooling and handling systems.

6. Program production according to varieties and geographical areas
Each variety has a seasonal production peak, depending on their genetic characteristics and day.degree requirements.

Additionally, playing with farm locations at different altitudes and latitudes allows the advancement or delay of these production peaks. A well planned production plays with varieties and farm geography and smooths out production curves. This allows a stable flow of produce into packing stations and the markets, avoiding production peaks and depressed prices.

7. Invest in applied R&D and utilize R&D as a differentiation and marketing tool
Applied R&D is the definitive source of competitive advantage for fresh produce businesses. The horticultural sector lags behind the implementation of some technologies developed up to 20 years ago. Small investments in R&D applied to specific problems can give a competitive advantage to a particular fresh produce business. Examples can be found in field applications, harvest techniques, packing station equipment, packaging, storage and ripening facilities, etc…

These seven techniques do not require a huge investment and are within the existing production processes and are easy to implement. They can be adopted in a short time period. The application of several of these measures has a cumulative effect in fruit quality and customer satisfaction, and therefore increased sales and profits.

Is Selling Fruits a Good Business?

A good entrepreneur always sees a business opportunity in anything. Knowing where to tap is a key skill. India has one of the largest agricultural markets in the world and fruits are a primary product. If you can think above the local ‘mandis’ and start to see a fruit retail enterprise to cater to the new-age health conscious demand for fresh fruits, you are looking at a successful business venture.

Fruit business is very profitable. Watch out, anybody that starts small grows it within a few weeks. Assuming you bought Orange 15,000 a bag and sell it 30,000, or you bought paw paw 100 naira for 1 and sell 200 naira. Calculate the amount you will realize if you sold 20 a day. How about banana, plantain and the rest there is good profit in the business.

Everything is about packaging so devise your own packaging style. To keep adding to the profit process some of the fruits to juice and sell. You need to see how people queue to buy grape juice in the market.

How to Start a Profitable Juice Business

Here are the 7 steps to Starting a Juicing Business:

1. Setup the Business

A juicing business is fairly inexpensive to begin. Just like any other business, it will need a name. Once you’ve settled on a name for your business, you should register the business with your government so you’re going into it legally.

The cost of registration for a business name in Nigeria, for example, is about  N15,000. The next item to spend on would be a cold press juicer, for a start. This would set you back about N100,000. The rest can go into packaging, containers, and plastics e.t.c

On average, you should be able to start your juicing business with as little as N250,000 (Roughly $670) assuming that you intend to start the business from home saving you the cost of having to rent a space.

2. Design your Menu

Designing your menu is a very easy step that you can have a little fun with. Here are some tried and tested fruit combinations you can get started with. 

First, know that there are 5 main categories of ingredients that make up your Juicing Menu:

1. Sweet Fruits e.g  Orange, Apple, Pineapple
2. Acidic e.g Lime or Lemon.
3. Spices e.g Tumeric, Ginger, Cayenne Pepper
4. Root Vegetables e.g Cucumber, Carrots, Beetroot
5. Greens e.g Spinach, Celery, Kelp.

Here are some suggested combinations to get started with:

1. Sweet Fruits + Spices: Any fruit from the sweet fruit category goes very well with any of the spices and can together form a menu item.
2. Sweet Fruits + Spices + Root Vegetables: Any fruit which classifies as a sweet fruit goes very well with any of the spices. You can also add an ingredient from the Root Vegetable category for a healthier option.
3. Root Vegetables + Sweet Fruits + Greens +  Acidic: Any fruit which classifies as a sweet fruit goes very well with the addition of a member of the root vegetable category, some green and an acidic like lime or lemon to give it a kick can form a menu item. You can combine Greens and Root Vegetables to come up with a really rich menu. Adding a fruit from the Sweet Fruit category would act as a sweetener and adding lime or lemon from the acidic category would give a nice kick to the recipe.

These are just some ideas on how to get started with your menu. Be sure to go ahead and try experimenting with your fruit and other ingredient combinations and see what you can come up with. There are no limits to how creative you can be with your recipes.

3. Get your Pricing Right

It is very important to get the unit economics for your business right from the beginning. Every ingredient in your recipe needs to add up to a price point without assumptions. Estimate the unit cost for the least measurement for all of the ingredients in your recipe.

For example; the price of a scoop of watermelon can be estimated by counting the number of scoops that can be gotten from an entire watermelon and dividing the total cost of that watermelon by that number. After getting the unit costs of your ingredients, you should add your profit margin to get what the product will be priced. A healthy margin is from 50%, depending on other costs you may incur. Therefore the formula for pricing becomes;

Product Price = The Unit Cost of Production + Profit Margin 

4. Make your Products Look good!

It’s very important that your product packaging is of good quality. People are first attracted by what they see and when your customers see that your product is packaged right, they are more likely to make a purchase, and if it tastes good, they will return to your business.

As regards photography and digital content, It is advisable that you take your photos in natural light. Your social media pages are a great representation of the quality of your product, so it’s important to put in the effort in looking good after so much as been done to make your products taste good.

Aside from selling online, partnering with complementary businesses can be a great way to reach more people, especially in the early days when you have no space of your own. More on that in the next step.

5. Choose a Profitable Customer Segment & Revenue Model

Rather than trying to sell to individuals i.e Young adults and Adults, you may want to explore other customer segments that would be more profitable. See some examples below:

Children: Popsicles are a great way to package your menu such that it appeals to children. Partnering with schools to enable you to offer your products to the students during lunch or after school, would be a great way to start this off.

Hospitals/Health Centres: Partnership with health institutions is a great idea. The great thing about your business is that it is a healthy living choice, so the marketing opportunities are endless. People care about their health and care about what they’re putting into their bodies.

People will be very willing to products that they’re assured will help them lead better and healthier lives. Products that they’re assured are beneficial to their body’s health. You would be juicing for health. Juicing for Health- This business strategy involves creating recipes that are required by people with specific health conditions or health goals as the case may be.

For example; you could have clients who have health conditions that would require certain dietary needs for a period of time. You can design the menu to address these conditions and have a subscription pricing plan for the duration of the patients needs to recover.

Other customer segments include customers at the  Gym/Yoga/Workout/Dance centres as well as those at corporate offices, and just generally places that are a constant part of people’s lifestyle. Partnering is a great way to get your business seen and also provide a constant source of customers for your business.

6. Find a Local Supplier

Another very important way to make money off juices is to sell exotic fruits. Finding the fruits that aren’t readily available on the market, buying them in bulk, and reselling them is a great way to make a reasonable profit from juicing and fruits. The Ijora market of Lagos, Nigeria is a great place to find fresh fruits for people who live in Lagos. The suppliers should also teach you the preservation methods for each fruit as you buy. More on preservation in the next step.

7. Learning Techniques for Preservation

Due to the perishable nature of your product, fruit preservation methods are something you need to pay a lot of attention to in order not to run into a loss that could cost you a lot of money. You need to find an effective method to keep your juices fresh and edible and also your raw materials. Each fruit has its own preservation method(s) 

Some general tips include keeping away from direct sunlight and as much as possible keeping the optimal temperature of the fruit constant.

For bananas, wrapping up the stem slows down the ripening process. Separating the unripe banana from the slightly ripe ones and also wrapping up the stem would preserve them for longer.

Apples should be kept cool for them to last longer.

How to Maximize your Fruit Trade Business Value Chain

When organising your export of fresh fruit and vegetables to Europe, it is important to agree on acceptable payment terms and put agreements in writing. Although the sector is relatively informal, the expectations of buyers are high and the export process must be done with precision.

To make sure that your product reaches its destination in a good condition, pay extra attention to packaging and cold chain logistics.

1. Put your agreements in writing

Well-defined agreements in contracts will protect your business, and give your buyers a sense of reliability and professionalism. Some buyers may be satisfied with only email exchange; however, even if your buyer does not want a contract, it is in your interest to have one.

Contracts or framework agreements act as a reminder and a record of what needs to be done. They also form the basis of legal proceedings, should either the supplier or the buyer breach the agreement. Though it is not an easy process, contracts can be enforced in Europe.

Check your contract

When negotiating with potential buyers, you must carefully read their purchase conditions (if provided). As a supplier, you are at risk when you lack understanding of the contract and its consequences or when you unintentionally conclude a contract.

You must be confident of the company with which you are dealing and understand the commitment that you are making. Do not sign, confirm or verbally agree with a contract that is unclear or incomplete.

Check whether the contract and the general terms and conditions are in line with your previous agreements on the following details:

• Product specification;
• Quantity (number of boxes, sizes and so on);
• Value;
• Price agreements;
• Delivery date or period;
• Terms of payment;
• Terms of delivery (see Incoterms below);
• Fees and/or charges applicable;
• Insurance;
• Default procedures;
• Dispute resolution procedure (governing law; place of jurisdiction; arbitration).

Use the COFREUROP code of practice as a basis for your contracts

If your buyer does not have any general purchase conditions, you can ask your buyer to sign your general conditions. Download the COFREUROP rules on the website of the European Fresh Produce Association “Freshfel Europe” and use this code of practice as a basis for your business transactions with European buyers.

The International Arbitration Chamber for Fruits and Vegetables (CAIFL) provides arbitration in national and international disputes, and promotes the COFREUROP code of practice. The COFREUROP rules clearly fix a number of obligations and duties of sellers and buyers in the fresh produce business. They provide a valuable solution in disputes about quality, prices, contract breaches, payments and other issues.

Use your rights as a supplier

When doing business with large, dominant buyers, you will soon be able to invoke your rights as a supplier. The European Commission proposed a new Directive to protect small and medium-sized suppliers in the food supply chain from unfair trade practices of economically stronger buyers. The Directive aims to protect farmers, processors, distributors, producer organizations as well as suppliers from outside the European Union.

A number of practices will be prohibited or only allowed when unambiguously agreed. Among the practices that will be prohibited are:

• Payments later than 30 days;
• Last-minute order cancellations ;
• Refusal to enter into a written contract;
• Unilateral contract changes;
• Transferring the costs of handling customer complaints to the supplier.

2. Use payment terms that are acceptable to you and your client

Payment terms will vary according to the supplier-client relationship and the products involved. Payments or partial payments in the fresh fruit and vegetable trade often take place at different moments. The sooner you get paid, the better your cash -flow and the more secure your payment will be.

However, documentary credit is not a common practice anymore in the fresh business and your buyer will most likely pay you after they have physically checked the product after arrival.

Using acceptable payment terms to you and your client is important to keep business going with the least amount of risk. Before agreeing on the payment term, try to investigate your client’s history and creditworthiness; for example, by using export credit agencies. Also, make sure that you can fall back on clearly formulated conditions when clients cannot or will not make the payment.

A first commercial transaction is often made after the arrival of the goods, because buyers want to check the product before making any payment. There is no market for adventurers or amateurs and buyers often avoid doing business with smaller (more risky) suppliers.

For this reason, it has become difficult for small and medium-sized suppliers to get into business with serious buyers in Europe. Still, as a small supplier, you should try to negotiate an advance payment to maintain your cash flow and get a commitment from your buyer. Expect lots of paperwork and rejections of buyers because they may consider you a liability. Likewise, you should avoid unreliable buyers – in other words, assess your buyer!

In the fresh produce sector, payments can also be made at different moments: as pre-season advances (most common for integrated partnerships), prior to shipment, after arrival or after the products are resold and the final price is calculated based on the account of sales. The account of sales includes the final selling price in Europe, and the total costs of product handling, testing, commission and taxes.

You can distinguish yourself as an exporter by using an open account, which means that the transaction is made a certain number of days after the goods have been delivered. This process creates higher risks and pressure on your cash flow.

It is therefore only recommended for trusted and established trade relations – and only when your financial situation allows for it. The advantage of an open account is that it saves you and your buyer the administrative costs of an intermediate bank and documentary credit.

3. Choose your export insurance according to your potential trade risk

Export insurance helps you to reduce your economical risks in international trade. The type and usefulness of your insurance depends on the specific risks of your export. When you have a high risk in terms of shipping and payment terms, export credit insurance can be recommendable.

The higher the value of your product or the riskier your trade partner or country, the more sense it makes to use export credit insurance and additional insurances such as cargo or currency insurance.

Remember that insurances do often not cover 100% of your potential loss and their policy costs can make your product more expensive. It is important to understand the limitations of insurance policies and shop around when you need one. For the export of fresh fruit and vegetables, export credit insurance is among the most common insurances.

Export credit insurance

Export credit insurance is highly recommendable for open-account business deals. Without a bank guarantee such as a Letter of Credit (L/C), you are exposed to higher financial risks. Export credit insurance protects you against non-payment or default by an importer; for example, due to insolvency. Moreover, it does not only provide you with peace of mind but also improves your access to working capital.

For fresh fruit and vegetables, you would use short-term insurance (repayment period up to 1 year) and you can choose between a single- of multiple-buyer policy. A single-buyer policy is useful to insure only 1 debtor or a one-off risk. Multiple-buyer policies can be more convenient when you have regular shipment to several clients and use a pay-as-you-go service.

Marine and cargo insurance

Whereas marine insurance only covers the liability of a maritime transport company, cargo insurance is used to protect your shipment of products throughout the entire journey to a customer.

Cargo insurance is recommended, especially when potential cargo loss will have a large impact on your business. Depending on the shipping agreement with your buyer, the cargo insurance is either your or your buyer’s responsibility.

Currency insurance

Most of your contracts with European buyers will be in euros or US dollars. The risk of conversion loss in the trade of fresh fruit and vegetables is often minimal due to the speed of trade. With long-term supply contracts and retail programs, it can be more relevant to use currency insurance against conversion loss. Credit agencies such as Atradius and banks such as Santander offer currency and foreign exchange risk insurance.

Product liability insurance

In Europe’s fresh fruit and vegetable business, product liability insurance is rare. It could protect you when your product harms consumers if it does not comply with legal standards such as on food safety. However, compensation is subject to the practices and efforts that you have taken to comply with the standards.

Seller’s interest or contingency insurance

Insufficient coverage for product damage or loss by your buyer may affect you as an exporter. You can increase your control over the level of insurance of your trading partner and ensure the payment of your goods by adding seller’s interest or contingency insurance. However, this insurance is less common than export credit insurance.

4. Check your export documents and import tariffs

In the export of fresh fruit and vegetables, preferential tariffs can influence your competitive position in Europe. However, you must also master the basics of custom procedures, including flawless export documentation.

Doublecheck your export documents

Familiarise yourself with customs procedures in Europe and always check your part of the export documents needed for customs clearance. A small mistake in the documents can result in serious delays. Find a trusted and recognized freight forwarder in your country, using the Freightos guide How to Choose a Freight Forwarder. Make sure that your documents are well made and competitive, such as:

• Transport documents (Bill of Lading, packing list);
• Commercial Invoice
• Documentary proof of origin/certificate of origin;
• Inspections Certificates (phytosanitary or plant health certificate, certificate of conformity for fruit with specific marketing standards).

To make your export process efficient and exchange data with your buyer without mistakes, you can choose to use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

Find your import tariff in the TARIC database

Import tariffs and preferential trade agreements are a major influence on your competitive advantage. Imported products that are also common in European cultivation are usually taxed according to the season. For a few fresh products, there are additional quota and tariff-rate quotas, such as for bananas and garlic. Preferential and autonomous tariff quotas can reduce some of the import tariffs.

5. Logistics: Maintain a perfect cold chain

Throughout the supply chain, you must make sure that your fresh fruit and vegetables are maintained in perfect conditions. Most important is a temperature-controlled supply chain from harvest to consumption (cold chain).

As an exporter, you have a large responsibility in maintaining your cold chain, including making sure that the products are properly loaded and cooled during shipping. The Incoterms determine how far your responsibility actually goes.

Beside a perfect cold chain, there are also other logistical aspects that you need to consider.

• Fumigation: Shippers may require the cargo to be fumigated, but check beforehand whether this process is accepted by your buyer; for example, fumigants are generally not allowed for organic products.
• Loading: Make sure that your container is well loaded with sufficient ventilation and air circulation.
• Ethylene: Fruit that generates ethylene should not be shipped with ethylene-sensitive products.
• Controlled atmosphere: Explore the possibility of using a controlled atmosphere for warehousing and transporting your fresh product. This option will help products arrive in a good condition. A controlled atmosphere is a storage method in which the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as the temperature and humidity of a storage room, are regulated. It is estimated that around 20% to 30% of cargo transported in refrigerated cargo ships is now transported under a controlled atmosphere.
• Monitoring: Make use of sensor technology to measure temperature during shipment. Check whether your forwarder or shipping line provides such technology.

Common International Commercial Terms or Incoterms for fresh fruit and vegetables are Free on Board (FOB) and Cost Insurance Freight (CIF). The Incoterm 2010 Delivered At Terminal (DAT) is renamed Delivered at Place Unloaded (DPU) in the renewed Incoterms 2020.

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Incoterms determine the extent of your responsibility but also your price and contract. For example, if you are trading large quantities of goods, you can get better offers from transport and insurance companies. In this case, the CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) price will usually be more competitive for you. If you have little export experience, it is safer to offer a price based on ExWorks or FOB only.

6. Use quality packaging to protect your products and ensure shelf life

Use proper packaging for the product that you are shipping. The package must be strong enough to protect your produce during storage, handling and distribution. Beside protection against physical injury, the packaging must be suitable to avoid microbial contamination, moisture and weight loss, and maintain shelf life.

• Use quality kraft corrugated cardboard boxes with sufficient strength to hold the specific cargo. Using superior-quality packaging for your product does not only give your buyer a good impression, but it also greatly reduces the risk of damaged goods. Lightweight packaging that is easily damaged by moisture or handling is not accepted by buyers of fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Protect your most delicate fresh products with extra material inside the box, such as plastic trays, insulation material, plastic liners or individual cushioning. You can also opt for impregnated, coated or laminated cardboard, but always take into account the EU regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. Materials may not release their constituents into food at levels harmful to human health or change food composition, taste and odour in an unacceptable way.

• Consider “active” packaging. which is packaging with a certain role such as absorbing ethylene, CO2 or oxygen, anti-microbial packaging and humidity regulators. Each fresh fruit and vegetable product has its own requirements for temperature, humidity and environmental gas composition. Modern produce packaging can be custom-engineered for each commodity to extend shelf life, delay ripening and reduce waste. For example, controlling the concentration of ethylene and slowing down respiration can help delay the ripening process.
• Make sure that your packaging can be ventilated with sufficient perforation and air flow.
• Make sure that your packaging is stackable in design and strength.
• Make sure that each box and pallet is labelled and traceable.

Points of attention:

• Try to make your packaging attractive by using an appealing design.
• Put extra effort into making your packaging sustainable; for example, by using recyclable and biodegradable materials, and by reducing the number of plastics as much as possible. Sustainable packaging is important to almost all European buyers and it will be a requirement for some.
• Have an eye for detail and comply with all specifications, including traceability codes. Especially retailers can be very precise in the type of packing and labeling of fresh fruit and vegetables.

7. Use support organisations to train yourself in best export practices

There are a number of international organisations that you can use for organising your export. These organisations provide information about the technical aspects of organising your shipment, explain the rules for entering the European market or provide services such as export training.

• International Trade Centre (ITC) is a development agency for sustainable trade with publications such as Model Contracts for Small Firms and an SME Trade Academy that provides online courses (some are free of charge), including international transport and logistics.
• EU Trade Helpdesk is a guide to import rules and taxes on the market of the European Union.
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has worldwide offices, and offers arbitration, export learning tools and information about Incoterms.
• BMT Cargo Handbook offers an information database on transporting cargo, including perishable products such as fruit and vegetables, set up by marine consultancy and surveying company BMT Netherlands B.V.
• Container Handbook provides cargo loss prevention information from German marine insurers.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has published lists of product standards in the Codex Alimentarius, which you can use as guidance for exporting several fresh fruit and vegetables.

• Export.gov (USA) of the US International Trade Administration provides guidance in making your export plan and you can browse their Export Education Guide to see whether you can find more relevant information to improve your knowledge.
• Institute of Export & International Trade (the United Kingdom) offers online courses; for example, online customs training. Some of these courses are available in English and French.
• Chambers of commerce: Ask your local chamber of commerce or export association for advice on how to organize your export. You can also purchase several guides and practical documents on trade finance from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or enroll in the ICC online training.