The Packaging Decision That Could Cost You Your Most Important Buyer
Why agricultural exporters are losing contracts they should never have lost — and what to do about it. It arrived at the port of Rotterdam on a Tuesday morning. Forty-two tons of premium Tanzanian cocoa beans. Months of careful fermentation. A harvest season worth of work from smallholder farmers in the Kilimanjaro region. A buyer in Belgium waiting — a specialty chocolate manufacturer who had paid a premium price for premium product. The container was opened. The inspector reached inside. The bags had failed. Moisture had worked its way through compromised stitching during the 28-day sea voyage. Mold had begun forming in the lower third of several bags. The cocoa beans — perfectly fermented, perfectly dried before packing — had been compromised by the one thing the farmer, the exporter, and the trader had no control over once the container was sealed. The packaging. The shipment was rejected. The contract was reviewed. The buyer found a new supplier. This story is n...