Managing The Global Cold Chain: As agricultural trade shifts to value-added non-bulk, perishable logistics must re-tool to serve expanding worldwide demand

摘要

Four hundred frozen carcases were shipped on a two month voyage from Australia in 1880 to the United Kingdom using a simple refrigeration plant. That marked the beginning of modern global agricultural trade. Few sectors better exemplify the transformation of the global economy than agricultural trade. Several decades ago bulk commodities-grains, oilseeds, cotton, and tobacco-were the mainstay. Today, they represent less than 30 percent of the total and are the slowest growing sector. They have been steadily replaced by processed intermediate products (flours, meals, oil), fresh horticultural products (e.g. bananas, tomatoes, cut flowers) and processed consumer goods (beverages, bakery products, fresh and frozen meat).