News
The city of Kobe's Industry and Agriculture Promotion Bureau is now working on a trial basis to transport local strawberries by sea to promote them in Hong Kong. The trial transport project is being advanced as the first program of the initiative that Kobe has launched to export locally grown agricultural products to other economies in the world.
In December 2014, 60 kilograms of Kobe-grown strawberries were carried by air to Hong Kong, the quality of which was verified by a Hong Kong buyer. The trial seaborne transport began in January this year. Strawberries left Kobe at the beginning of the month and arrived in Hong Kong in the middle. The city will continue to handle strawberries by sea this month. They will make a second trip in a maritime service scheduled to set sail from Kobe on Feb. 5.
Normally, strawberries are exported from Japan by air, but the city of Kobe has decided to move them by sea to promote the use of the Port of Kobe. Last month, two services were employed for the project, which departed Kobe on Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 and reached Hong Kong on Jan. 18 and Jan. 20, respectively. They both carried 50 to 60 cases of strawberries in a 20-foot reefer container and dry container. Through the project, Kobe hopes to discover (1) appropriate temperatures and air compositions for transporting strawberries over extended periods of time, (2) strawberry varieties that could keep good in long-term transport and (3) how Kobe strawberries are rated in the Hong Kong market.
