EVALUATION OF FOUR PALLET COMPATIBLE BOXES DEVELOPED FOR MECHANICAL PROTECTION, MIXED LOADS AND FOR THE DISPLAY OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN BRAZILIAN MARKETS

Abstract

Four complementary plastic crates dimensioned to protect from mechanical injury during transport and commercialization of weighed produce were developed in 2005. Each crate is suitable for certain fruits and vegetables, and as a group, these boxes are pallet compatible even in mixed loads, which are in high demand in Brazil. Developed to assure that the product is not compressed during handling and transportation, these crates comply with relevant Brazilian laws developed to improve logistics and ergonometry. In this study, the crates were evaluated among users and potential users by questionnaires which were applied after demonstrations. On the first questionnaire, boxes were evaluated by respondents according to their accumulated impressions about size, shape and overall compatibility of these boxes using an increasing acceptance scale of 1 to 9. In a second questionnaire, different members of the market were asked about the intention they have to buy or use these crates if they become commercially available, also in an increasing acceptance scale of 1 to 5. For vegetable producers, the scores in these two questionnaires were on average 6.9, 7.1, 7.5 and 3.6, while for the wholesalers the scores were 5.3, 6.7, 8.1 and 3.0, respectively for size, shape, overall package suitability and for potential marketability. The scores obtained were highly positive. The producers’ scores were on average higher, but interestingly the score obtained at wholesale market was higher for the overall system suitability, and this single aspect may be considered the main strength of this compatible group of boxes designed to attend to packing, logistic and marketing demands in Brazil.