The Bilbao Port Authority will once again be taking part in Fruit Attraction, a leading event for operators, retailers and professionals in the fruit and vegetable sector, to be held from 6 to 8 October at IFEMA in Madrid. The event will feature more than 2,400 companies from 152 different countries, with around 120,000 trade professionals expected to attend.
Andima Ormaetxe, Director of Operations, Commercial Affairs and Logistics at the Bilbao Port Authority, will be one of the speakers at the round-table discussion entitled ‘Innovation in the cold chain: the strategic role of ports in the global trade in fresh produce’, set to take place at 12:30 on 7 October. As Ormaetxe explains, Fruit Attraction is an important event for the Port of Bilbao “as it enables us to engage closely with one of the sectors most in need of efficient, reliable and agile logistics chains. Furthermore, it is an ideal forum for keeping abreast of emerging trends that drive development, whilst promoting sustainability and innovation within the industry, two cornerstones of our Port’s commercial strategy”.
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At the same time, the Port of Bilbao will also be present at Stand 4C1 in Hall 4, within the Spanish State Ports Authority exhibition area. The aim is to further consolidate the position of Bilbao as the Atlantic gateway for foreign trade in fruit and vegetables from the Iberian Peninsula, showcasing its infrastructure, services and the opportunities provided by its two new direct container services to the Americas, specifically with the west coast of South America (with calls at the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Chile), and with Canada. These two services complement the large number of shipping lines already connecting the port to around 900 other ports worldwide, with a strong presence in the United Kingdom, Ireland and northern Europe.
Additionally, the Port of Bilbao has specialised facilities and companies with experience in handling perishable goods. The Border Cntrol Post, equipped with 15 loading/unloading bays, has been fitted with new refrigeration equipment forthe cold stores and loading bays, and new laboratories have been added for use by the Official Service of Inspection, Surveillance and Regulation of Foreign Trade. The port’s container terminal is the largest in northern Spain, with 540 reefer container sockets and automated access that streamlines and simplifies all operations, a key feature for this type of traffic.
Likewise, the port boasts ro-ro and multipurpose terminals, as well as perishable goods warehouses. The Frioport cold storage terminal occupies 4,800 m² of floor space, with two freezers operating at -25ºC with a total capacity of 16,300 m³, and three cold rooms with a capacity of 7,500 m³. In addition, Progeco has two facilities for the storage and transfer of goods, with 6,000 m² of positive cold storage space, and offers specialised services for the storage, maintenance and repair of refrigerated containers 365 days a year, thereby preventing interruptions in the cold chain.
In addition to all this, the port offers other competitive advantages, such as weekly container rail services with depots in the provinces of Araba, Barcelona, Burgos, Guadalajara, Huesca, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Pontevedra, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia and Zaragoza.