Frozen LCL service for Canadian seafood

Antwerp-based foodcareplus will provide a refrigerated less-than-containerload consolidation service for seafood products from Canada to Europe.

   Antwerp, Belgium-based logistics services provider foodcareplus will provide a refrigerated less-than-containerload consolidation service for seafood products from Canada to Europe.
   The company said the weekly service will operate between the ports of Halifax and Antwerp. 
   Foodcareplus expects the service to benefit from the implementation the trade agreement reached between Canada and Europe. When the agreement enters force, 96 percent of EU tariffs for fish and seafood products will be duty-free. These products include frozen shrimp, lobster, scallops and mackerel, which currently face EU tariffs from 11 percent to 25 percent.
   Canada’s fish and seafood exports to the European Union are currently worth about $400 million per year. The Canada-EU trade agreement is expected to be ratified by the European Council and the Canadian parliament this year, with effect by no later than early 2016.  
    Deep-frozen seafood shipped via foodcareplus’ LCL service will travel from Canada into Europe’s hinterland via its frozen cargo facility in Antwerp. “At this same location, physical quality inspection and veterinary examination will be performed by the Food Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain before the cargo is prepared for swift delivery to the final customer,” the firm said.
   The service comes with two options. The “delivered.easy” option includes collecting palletized frozen seafood cargo in Halifax, shipping via ocean freight into the cargo facility in Antwerp, full release with the food safety authorities, customs clearance and delivery. Initially, the service will cover Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Other countries will be added as from September, foodcareplus said. The “pickup.easy” service allows any European importer to pick up the cargo at the foodcareplus’ Antwerp facility where they may choose to opt in on customs clearance.