A green picked banana doesn't wait. Every hour lost between the plantation, the port gate and the ship's hold eats into its freshness, then its value. It is to avoid this race against time that the Central Organization of Producers, Exporters of Pineapples and Bananas (OCAB) knocked on the door of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan (PAA). Thus, the Director General of the PAA, Kassoum Traoré, received a delegation from the organization, led by its Executive Director, Gabriel Ouidi. Representatives of the sector detailed the obstacles encountered in the export of their products. Two topics dominated, such as traffic flow and the handling of perishable goods. The issue is economic and social. The dessert banana covers approximately 3,650 hectares grouped within OCAB.It generates 15,000 direct jobs and 170,000 indirect jobs. For these operators, the slightest delay at entering the port or loading can affect the quality of the fruit and their commercial value.

The port nevertheless has a recognized advantage. Its fruit terminal processes an average of 250,000 tonnes of fruit per year. It offers 131 connections for refrigerated containers and cold stores for 2,000 pallets. But the issue is not limited to infrastructure. It covers the entire chain (arrival of trucks, access to facilities, processing of goods, coordination of stakeholders and boarding). The Director General reaffirmed the PAA's availability to examine suitable and sustainable solutions with OCAB.He invited the representatives of the sector to continue discussions with the port teams, in order to define measures responding to the operational constraints of export.

This meeting opens a phase of concrete work between the port and producers. It now requires measurable measures on lead times, because for fresh fruit, speed determines competitiveness.