On the last day of 2019, YM MANDATE, a container vessel operated by Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. (Yang Ming), carried Taiwan’s famous guava fruit from Kaohsiung to the other coast of the Pacific, the United States. The vessel arrived at Los Angeles on January 14th. It’s the very first container of Taiwan guava shipped to the U.S. and passed inspection since the import ban was lifted by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in October 2019.

Taiwan guava is well received for its crispy taste and beautiful flavor. Since guava requires tropical environment to grow, Taiwan guava is particularly anticipated by North Americans. However, it was difficult for Taiwan guava to enter the U.S. market, because Taiwan is an endemic area of oriental fruit fly, melon fruit fly and fruit pumpkin fly. Now, as all the quarantine standards and requirements are met, fresh Taiwan guava can be delivered to the U.S. and the local consumers can enjoy this high-quality tropical fruit from Taiwan.

To ensure Taiwan guava can enter the U.S. market, Yang Ming has strengthened communication with its client. Its salesforce worked together with ship crews to closely monitor and properly control the temperature. Insecticidal cold treatment was applied to these fresh guavas and the temperature in the center of pulp was maintained at below 1°C in Yang Ming’s reefer container for 17 consecutive days during the transportation. After the arrival, Yang Ming appointed a team to assist the consignee and make sure the inspection procedure was completed smoothly and the batch of fresh Taiwan guava was successfully delivered to its U.S. importer.

Assistant Vice President Tan Wang of Yang Ming’s Commercial Reefer Department said “Cold treatment inspection to ensure extremely high standards are fulfilled throughout the transportation. The client - Top Quality Produce, Inc. is very satisfied with the success and impressed with Yang Ming team’s efficiency and capability.”

Yang Ming is always committed to upgrading its refrigerated transportation services. Together with cold treatment (CT), the company also adopted the new Active CA (Controlled Atmosphere) device for reefer containers to overcome technical difficulties. This successful experience is a result of team efforts and marks an important milestone in Yang Ming’s refrigerated delivery service. The company will have greater capability to ship perishable commodities in the future. Considering the growing demand of the global cold chain market, the company seizes every opportunity to meet customers’ needs. Yang Ming will continue to optimize its professional reefer services and deliver fresh products around the world.