Products such as meat, fish and fruit often enter the European Union through the port of Rotterdam. Before admission, they undergo mandatory checks on food safety, among other things. These checks are often time-consuming. Thanks to an optimisation process, the checking process has now been improved, making inspections much faster.

Collaboration in the chain

To make the inspection process in the supply chain more transparent and efficient, the Port of Rotterdam Authority established a working group at the end of 2024. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), EvoFenedex, Fresh Produce Centre (GroentenFruit Huis), Nekovri, Fenex, DMIA, the Visfederatie (Dutch Fish Federation), the Agricultural Import Platform (AIP), and Portbase are all participating. The shared goal is a seamless inspection process, where cargo is inspected quickly and correctly and reaches the end customer promptly.

Davey Gerlings of Nekovri (Dutch Association for Cold Stores and Freezer Houses): ‘Efficient and careful inspections are crucial for the quality of our food chain. The Netherlands has a unique position in Europe with its public-private inspection points and the close collaboration between government and business. By working together to improve coordination and the digitalisation  of processes, we take steps that prevent waste, reduce costs and strengthen confidence across the entire Dutch supply chain.’

Why improvement is needed

Upon arrival in the Netherlands, products such as meat and fish are checked at designated locations in the port: the Inspection Centres. Freight forwarders submit the necessary documents to the NVWA, while Customs also plays an important role. Due to long lead times in the process, reefer containers often remain at the terminal, resulting in high demurrage and detention costs and the risk of quality loss. A lack of clarity regarding the available capacity at inspection points contributes to this, causing frustration among providers and unnecessary communication between chain parties.

The working group is committed to making structural changes in the process surrounding these inspections through targeted improvement measures. For freight forwarders, this means greater certainty regarding the turnaround times of document checks and greater insight into the capacity at inspection points, enabling better planning and anticipation.

Concrete steps forward

Anne Saris, Business Manager Agrofood and Distribution at the Port of Rotterdam Authority: ‘It is essential to align all interests. This is a win-win situation for everyone.’

The working group has now implemented several improvements:

• Dashboard development: lead times, capacity and occupancy rates at inspection points are now more transparent.
• Operational guidelines: increased focus on preventing operator input errors during registration, enabling the NVWA and Customs to work more efficiently.
• Better coordination: mutual understanding and constructive discussions regarding capacity utilisation.

Anne: ‘We already see that processing times at Customs have decreased. When information is provided correctly, more shipments can be processed within the same timeframe. This considerably reduces waiting times.’

Less waste, more quality

Faster processing is not only more efficient, but also crucial for the quality of fresh produce. Peter Verbaas – NVWA: ‘Supervision of “safety” remains at the core of the NVWA’s work in the import process. Efficiency is an important theme in this regard. It is both excellent and crucial that chain partners are now open to learning about each other’s sub-processes, and that everyone is taking responsibility for integrated process improvement. We must value and maintain this collaboration.’

The working group will continue to work on further process improvements until early 2026. The Import Sector Committee will then evaluate whether a follow-up process is needed in 2026.
Source: Port of Rotterdam