Carbon footprint of southern hemisphere fruit exported to Europe: The case of Chilean apple to the UK

Iriarte, Alfredo; Yáñez, Pablo Paño; Villalobos, Pablo; Huenchuleo, Carlos; Rebolledo-Leiva, Ricardo

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126118

Cited by 31 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The authors are of the opinion that this is the fairest and most accurate method of incorporating time as a variable in the assessment. This is contrary to current literature by authors such as Dobers et al [20], Dobers and Perotti et al [14], Iriarte et al [24] and Smart Freight Centre [2], which does not account for dwell days at all.…”

Section: The Allocation Problem and Dwell Dayscontrasting

confidence: 92%

The Carbon Footprint of Fruit Storage: A Case Study of the Energy and Emission Intensity of Cold Stores

2022

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Despite their importance in all transportation chains, logistical sites—and in particular refrigerated facilities—are the weakest link in current emissions literature. This is largely due to a lack of quantitative research that focuses on these facilities. This article is the first of its kind to assess the emissions of eight refrigerated facilities that handle and store fresh fruit. In 2020, the analyzed facilities moved a total of 646,572 pallets of fresh fruit and emitted 32,225 t of CO2e. Five of the largest facilities were responsible for handling 18.83% of the total fresh fruit exported from South Africa during 2020. The results revealed that storing and handling a pallet of fruit in a large-scale commercial cold store requires 7.62 kWh of electricity per day. Storing and handling fresh fruit is carbon intensive since each pallet stored translates to 7.52 kg CO2e d−1. However, other factors such as the seasonality and volume of fruit handled, facility characteristics and the availability of solar electricity systems, among others, all have a significant impact on the emissions value of the facility and on the emission intensity per pallet moved through the facility.

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Section: The Allocation Problem and Dwell Dayscontrasting

confidence: 92%

The Carbon Footprint of Fruit Storage: A Case Study of the Energy and Emission Intensity of Cold Stores

2022

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“…For example, for banana from Ecuador, Roibás et al [ 42 ] reported 0.23 kg CO 2 eq/kg banana for overseas transport from Puerto Bolivar and Guayaquil harbors in Ecuador to Rotterdam (Netherlands). Chilean apple presents GHG emissions of 0.54 kg CO 2 eq/kg, being the ocean freight from Chile (Valparaiso) to UK (London), a hot spot (0.21 kg CO 2 eq/kg) that determined the performance of the product carbon footprint of exported apple with a contribution of 39.2% [ 22 ]. This result is similar to that reported here for the route Chile (Quillota) to UK (London) for avocado.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most complete reported work on LCA analysis (from production to consumption) for different fruits consumed in UK was reported by Frankowska et al [ 8 ]. Another recent research work on Chilean apple LCA analysis destined to European markets revealed that ocean freight accounts for 39.2% of the carbon footprint [ 22 ]. A review of the literature shows that there are no previous studies dealing with the impact of both fruit origin and distance, including conditions of the commercialization supply chain, of avocado cv.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short vs. Long-Distance Avocado Supply Chains: Life Cycle Assessment Impact Associated to Transport and Effect of Fruit Origin and Supply Conditions Chain on Primary and Secondary Metabolites

Pedreschi

Ponce

Hernández

et al. 2022

Foods

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Avocado consumption and trade are increasing worldwide, with North America and Europe being the main importing regions. Spain is the major European avocado producer (90% of the production), yet it only supplies 10% of the market. Consequently, more than 90% of the avocados consumed in Europe are imported from overseas, mainly from Chile and Peru. In this work, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) impact associated with the transport of two avocado supply chains (short (Spanish) and long (Chilean)) and the effect of the fruit origin and distance of both chains on primary and secondary metabolites from harvest to edible ripeness were evaluated using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (LC-DAD) based metabolite analysis. The LCA transport impact of the fresh supply chain from production centers in Chile (Quillota) and Spain (Malaga), and then the distribution to several cities in Europe, suggested road export from Spain to European capitals to have the lowest impact (0.14 to 0.22 kg CO2 eq/kg of avocado). When export from Chile was considered, the option of oceanic freight to European ports closer to final destinations was clearly a better option (0.21 to 0.26 kg CO2 eq/kg) than via the Algeciras port in Spain followed by road transport to final destinations in European capitals (0.34 to 0.43 kg CO2 eq/kg), although the situation could be somewhat different if the avocados are transported from the destination ports in northern Europe to long-distance capitals in other European countries. Fruit origin had a significant impact on avocado primary and secondary metabolites. The conditions of the supply chain itself (10 d in cold storage in regular conditions vs. 30 d cold storage + controlled atmosphere conditions) largely influence the fate of some metabolites that certainly affect the pool of metabolites at edible ripeness. The long-assumed hypothesis that the longer the supply chain the more negative impact on nutritional and functional compounds might not hold in this case, as long as transport conditions are adequate in terms of temperature, atmosphere conditions, and time considering distance from origin to destination.

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“…The apple-production process is affected by the natural environment, technological levels, agricultural levels, the economic environment, and policy support [ 40 , 41 ]. In this study, guided by Porter’s diamond model [ 42 ] and other research on industrial competitiveness [ 43 , 44 ], the factors affecting apple industry competitiveness are divided into production factors, technology level, agricultural innovation, brand building, market conditions, and policy support.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitiveness and sustainable development of Chinableapple industry

Sun

Deng²,

Yong-hua³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Agriculture faces a contradiction between sustainable resource utilization and maintaining market competitiveness. As a major agricultural product, the sustainability and competitiveness of the apple industry have become important topics. This study analyzes the competitiveness of China’s apple industry and the factors affecting it. Using 2004 and 2018 data for eight Chinese provinces, principal component analysis and spatial autocorrelation are used to examine competitiveness in terms of five aspects: market, production, technology, organization, and environment. The results indicate that Shandong, Shaanxi, and Gansu were the most competitive during the study period while Hebei, Henan, and Ningxia lagged behind. Regional differences are obvious, with Shandong in particular showing a clear competitive advantage. Although no spatial agglomeration is observed in China’s apple industry, with ongoing industrial development, local spatial correlations in the five aspects of competitiveness in the eight provinces have been increasing and gradually stabilizing. This study’s findings suggest that improved scientific production, reasonable capital investment, and an established industrial chain are needed to promote local agriculture, economic development, and the central role of the apple industry.

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Carbon footprint of southern hemisphere fruit exported to Europe: The case of Chilean apple to the UK

Cited by 31 publications

References 15 publications

The Carbon Footprint of Fruit Storage: A Case Study of the Energy and Emission Intensity of Cold Stores

The Carbon Footprint of Fruit Storage: A Case Study of the Energy and Emission Intensity of Cold Stores

Short vs. Long-Distance Avocado Supply Chains: Life Cycle Assessment Impact Associated to Transport and Effect of Fruit Origin and Supply Conditions Chain on Primary and Secondary Metabolites

Competitiveness and sustainable development of Chinableapple industry

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