Business, Freight News, Logistics, Sea

Less carbon equals tastier food supply chain

[ October 10, 2011   //   Chris ]

Food and drink group Princes has increased its commitment to use the Manchester Ship Canal following the signing of an earlier agreement with canal operator Peel Ports to switch 3,000teu per year from road to barge. The company now expects to switch around 6,500teu to the canal, reducing its road miles by up to 500,000 per year and reduce its annual CO2 emissions by over 500,000kg.

A Princes spokesperson said: “By importing through Liverpool, we had already reduced our carbon footprint; however we then looked at the possibility of utilising Peel’s Liverpool to Manchester barge service to reduce it even further. This has been a great success, and by removing thousands of containers from the UK’s roads we have delivered a real environmental benefit. ”

Stephen Carr, head of business development at Peel Ports Mersey said with70% of goods that come within a 150 mile radius of the Port of Liverpool entering the UK though southern ports, this added further strain on the country’s overburdened transport networks and led to unnecessary CO2 emissions.

However, he pointed out: “Liverpool is the most centrally positioned deep-sea port in the UK, meaning it is ideally situated to serve all cargo bound for Northern Britain by optimising the supply chain, and we are delighted that this has been recognised by Princes and other food and drink suppliers including AB World Foods, Heinz and Kingsland Wines.”