How Air Transport Powers the Global Flower Industry

DALLAS - Those who receive flowers rarely understand the role the aviation-based global logistics chain plays in ensuring their fresh delivery.

Airways traveled to Miami for the inaugural Fresh Flower Forum to better understand how air transport facilitates the global flower industry across thousands of miles and different climate zones.

Located just above the Air Cargo Americas convention, the Fresh Flower Forum was hosted by Miami International Airport (MIA) and Brussels Airport (BRU) on March 9 with numerous industry players participating.

MIA and BRU, established pharmaceutical transport hubs, are also key players in the global flower transport industry, with MIA serving as the first point of entry for 91% of the flowers coming into the US.

The Head of Product and Route Development at BRU, Nathan de Valck, emphasized that "Brussels Airport is the perfect perishables gateway into Europe" that can "connect Latin America and Europe" with a MIA connection.

de Valck continued, saying that "all of the cargo activities are clustered together at the north side of the airport" allowing for an efficient and transparent operation.

Dimitrios "Jimmy" Nares, Section Chief for Marketing at MIA, highlighted not only the five freighter airlines connecting MIA and BRU but that MIA is "a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean" with "direct service to 71 markets in the region [with] a little over 1,000 weekly departures."

Brussels Airport: Innovation in Perishable Transport

Over the past few years, BRU has vastly improved capabilities in the perishable goods arena using an emphasis on transparency and digitization.

Sam Quintelier, the Cargo Business Development Manager at BRU, highlighted the role of the Perishable Management App (PMA) in spearheading improvement.

The PMA incorporates all stakeholders, from airlines to regulatory authorities, in the transport of perishables into a digital platform that allows all parts of the transport process through BRU to be monitored.

Quintelier said that the PMA has a direct application programming interface (API) "with the airport database" to "link all the flight data" making it easier for authorities to more efficiently and easily conduct inspections on perishable goods.

The PMA through transparency, rapid communication, and a "paperless way of working" is "future proof" in the words of Quintelier.

Safeguarding American Agriculture

The entry of perishables, especially flowers, into the U.S. necessitates a rigorous procedure to ensure that American agriculture is protected.

Louis Volpe, the FO South Florida Area Director at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), outlined how the USDA works with flower importers to ensure that flowers safely transit through the U.S.

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Volpe said that the role of the USDA is to "regulate and inspect propagative material, that's plant materials, those are seeds," before summarizing, "if it goes in the ground, we get it; if it goes for consumption, CPB Agriculture gets it."

The USDA also has the "largest group for taxonomic support" in the U.S. in Miami, according to Volpe who further added that whether a pest or disease is found by CPA Agriculture or the USDA they will "come to [the USDA] station in Miami."

Volpe continued, saying that the USDA inspects and issues phytosanitary certificates, supervises re-conditionings and re-stackings for cargo, monitors methyl bromide treatments, validates the Convention of International Trade and Endangered Species (CITES) documents, conducts trade compliance and smuggling interdiction operations, and ensures garbage regulation.

The true scale of the USDA MIA operation lies in the statistics. Volpe said that the USDA-APHIS Miami Inspection Station now inspects "over a billion plant units a year," a major increase from previous years.

Volpe, continued, stating that the USDA does "over 15,000 inspections, last year we were in the 9,000 range so despite the pandemic we've almost doubled our individual perspectives per year so it's a fantastic number."

The USDA also processed 19,000 pest identifications in Miami which involves "determining whether or not [the pests] need some kind of phytosanitary treatment."

Volpe added that the Miami station did over 8,600 treatments last year and that the USDA has three treatment locations operating 24/7 in Miami. Volpe said that "if you need a treatment done on Christmas Day, someone won't be happy, but they'll do [it]" before stating that the Miami station does over 1,000 CITES certifications a year.

Delving more into the export process, Volpe said that the USDA uses "phytosanitary certificate issuance tracking (PCIT) [which] gives the [necessary] information to issue a phytosanitary certificate, it helps [the USDA] to know what the country that's importing needs as a requirement."

Volpe added that the USDA also relies on a "Phyto export database [with] all the information with U.S. origin goods because there's a difference between what originates here and came from a foreign location, transiting here and then going to a subsequent country."

The phytosanitary certificate shows what requirements an importer will need to meet for a commodity, Volpe continued, saying that all of the regulations "originate from the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) so it's a very standardized thing throughout the world."

Volpe concluded by stating that foreign commodities entering the U.S. must be cleared, inspected, and hold a valid phytosanitary certificate before moving onto another country.

The American Customs Process, One Involving All Imported Perishables

Stanley Gathumbi, the Chief Agriculture Specialist at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB), outlined the customs process for perishable goods entering the U.S.

Gathumbi reemphasized the importance of the phytosanitary certificate, saying that CPB officers "know no Phyto, no entry" because the certificate is "a statement of fact that the commodity is free of diseases and pests."

Commodities entering the U.S. must be cleared at the first point of entry, with Gathumbi recommending that importers use licensed brokers to streamline the process.

Gathumbi noted that the CPB promptly releases cargo without pests or diseases for further transport, but that a rigorous procedure is followed if a pest is found.

If a pest is found, paperwork will be done, and "the pest is submitted to the USDA for identification. If the pest is found to be non-actionable, we go back into the system and release the cargo, and it can get into U.S. commerce."

Gathumbi continued, saying that if the pest is actionable, "the cargo has to be treated under USDA supervision" before emphasizing that the CPB will work with industry "to make sure they go through the process without having a lot of issues."

The cargo in need of treatment must be "safeguarded" to prevent the additional spread of diseases. Gathumbi noted that if a commodity cannot be treated, the product can be sent back to the country of origin or destroyed by a company near MIA under USDA supervision.

Perspectives on Infrastructure in Flower Transportation

Flowers, like all perishable goods, require the maintenance of a set of environmental conditions from the time they are harvested to the time a customer picks them up from a shelf. The environmental conditions in the air transport process are paramount.

Sam Quintelier kicked off a panel to better understand the role of infrastructure surrounding air transportation in the flower industry.

First to speak was Diego Garcia, the Chief Operating Officer at LATAM Cargo, who emphasized the necessity of infrastructure serving as "a fast way to move the cargo out of the airport" as perishables only have a limited timeframe in which they can be transported.

Juan Correa, the Chief Operating Officer at Avianca Cargo, highlighted the need for balanced investment in infrastructure to serve the needs of "speed and reduced cost" on behalf of clients.

The panel then shifted to a freight forwarder perspective, with Christophe Eulaerts, the Director of Perishables for Belgium and Luxembourg at DSV Air & Sea, emphasizing that perishables serve as a niche market and by focusing on the niche companies can provide customers a better service experience.

Jan Van Duffel, Standards Director at dnata, said that infrastructure can make a difference, especially in the area of temperature control to "protect [special] cargo while transporting it to and from the airplanes."

Correa said that "turnaround times" are key at an airside level and that airlines strive to "cut waiting times" while "trying to use cool cars or cool trucks" to protect perishables during ground transport. He added that "speed ports" allowing for the direct transportation of perishables from the aircraft sitting on the ramp can be very helpful.

Garcia similarly said that "temperature control" is key but that it is "more important to speed up the ramp process" to ensure that the perishables have the best shelf life.

Quintelier then directed the conversation towards efficiency at BRU, with Eulaerts adding that "having freight directly from the aircraft to the truck, unfortunately, in Europe or Belgium, is not going to work."

However, Eulaerts continued, saying that "a full flight of flowers" can be handled in two to two and a half hours at BRU, which "is by far faster than at most of the given airports [because] of agreements in place with local authorities."

Correa added that airlines help speed up the process by trying "to bring everything set up from the origin [including] visas and documents" and that physical handling of delicate perishables is often aided by temperature blankets and sensors.

Panelists concluded by highlighting areas in which airports can improve, with Van Duffel saying that airports need to make a point of listening to different parties involved in the transport process.

Garcia said that ramps should be closer to warehouses and that airports must have a perspective that considers "the whole process," while Eulaerts added that talking, managing expectations, and embracing change are paramount.

Charter operations were brought up by Correa as an area for growth. He also emphasized the role of partnerships, sponsors, and incentives across both charter and regular air cargo operations with perishables.

Communication and Data Sharing, Perspectives on the Future of Flower Transportation

Transporting flowers across long distances and maintaining their quality can be considered a form of art, one depending upon precision, precision that comes in a large part from data management.

Jimmy Nares started the second panel with a focus on the role of data in flower transportation with representatives from airlines, trade associations, cargo operators, and data companies.

Sara Van Gelder, Digital Community Manager at Nallian, said that transparency in perishable transportation is key and said that "capturing data as close as possible to the source" is important.

Van Gelder continued, saying that as a whole the industry is not digitally mature enough and that incentives need to be put in place to encourage operators to digitize. She also highlighted the reality that paper documents still play a major role in the perishable transportation process today.

The conversation shifted to perishable management with Chris Mazzeo, VP of Global Operations at Amerijet International Airlines, saying that the airline recently shifted to a new, more capable ERP system but emphasized that a lot of tools are available to operators go unused.

Jeff Segers, the Chief Executive Officer at IFA Skyfast, said that everything is paper-based in animal transportation before adding that governments communicating with each other, especially digitally, would be "a huge step forward" but highlighted the likelihood of countries not being willing to adopt their respective electronic systems.

Robert Verbaenen, Business Development Manager at Deny Cargo, emphasized the necessity "to make a distinction between the official systems or tools [and] the private initiatives" along with the necessity of all systems to aid productivity.

Verbaenen continued, saying that the E.U. TRACES digital system for sanitary and phytosanitary certification is good on a conceptual level, but regulations, as they stand, are inefficient and require "double systems." He added that the PMA at Brussels Airport is very helpful in combatting inefficiencies.

A willingness to embrace digitization is crucial in the flower industry, one known for slim profit margins. Christine Boldt, Executive VP at the Association of Flower Importers of Florida, said that in Colombia, a country that only has one phytosanitary requirement for flowers imported to the U.S., the government does not see digitization as a priority.

Boldt added that partnerships with airlines are crucial to enabling better, more efficient interactions with customs authorities. She also said that the new ACE system by the U.S. CPB is still relatively new but has the potential to enhance the flower transportation process.

Boldt said that the primary benefits of collaboration and data sharing are "speed and movement."

Segers said that he would prefer "not having shipments blocked at places if you lose a document." He continued, saying that "in this world, the documents are more important than the commodity" and added that if data is shared electronically, documents will never be lost just as money measured digitally is rarely lost.

Verbaenan added that in Europe, even if successful treatment is done on a pest, a perishable will not be allowed to enter, highlighting the importance of communication and data sharing before the product arrives in the E.U.

Mazzeo said that hesitancy towards sharing data is prevalent, with Van Gelder emphasizing that data sharing can spread by "finding wins for the stakeholders who need to share" data. Stakeholders need to be incentivized to share data.

Van Gelder continued, saying that by sharing data across the board, operators can gain "a faster approval process" from regulatory agencies. She said, "Taking the first steps and showing benefits is going to help people change their minds." Verbaenan added that a system that "everybody uses [gives] more power to get the regulating bodies onboard."

Nares steered the final portion of the panel towards standardization, especially considering that a lot of complex, cross-border regulations are involved in flower transportation.

Segers emphasized that the industry is already very standardized but that the standards, despite oftentimes being very similar, are not always understood across the board. He emphasized that the E.U. does a great job of maintaining standards in an easily understandable manner despite the different languages across bloc nations.

Verbaenan emphasized a "big difference" between pharma and perishables, saying that pharma transportation is a higher-stakes operation. However, he said that perishables "are more standardized, the systems are in place, phytosanitary certificates [are in place], and now we have TRACES. Now, it is just finding a way to use it properly and apply it."

Verbaenan added that Brussels airport has 24/7 service which allows for a more efficient operation in which operators can save money through gained efficiencies. Boldt emphasized that Miami International Airport is the only airport in the United States with 24/7 customs for perishables.

Nares concluded the panel by emphasizing the importance of collaboration, having the right data-sharing platforms, and maintaining the integrity of messages throughout the transport process while developing partnerships with experts, allowing for more efficient, profitable operations.

From South America to the World

From the experienced panelists to the numerous diverse attendees, the Fresh Flower Forum was a testament to the social and economic power of the global flower industry. Despite slim profit margins, sharing ideas and pioneering new solutions as promoted in the forum will allow the industry to strengthen and expand.

The sheer transcontinental power of air transportation along with the strong connections between Miami International Airport and Brussels Airport truly gives South American flowers a chance to rival African flowers in the European market.

The tides of the global flower industry, shaped by the purchases of lovers around the world, have broad ripple effects of growth and prosperity from the Americas to Europe, with the potential to realign the global air transport industry. Flowers have power.

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Featured image: The inaugural Fresh Flower Forum hosted numerous air freight and perishable industry experts at the Air Cargo Americas conference in Miami. Photo: Brent Foster/Airways