How is bulk freeze-dried jackfruit packed and loaded for export?
FruitBuys packs bulk freeze-dried jackfruit in 1–5 kg sealed PET/AL/LLDPE barrier bags inside 5-ply export cartons of 58 × 28 × 34 cm, at 7–10 kg net per carton. Carton fill sets your freight per kilogram; the barrier bag sets your shelf life. Choose both around your cut. Supplier checks are in the bulk buying guide.
A 20 ft container takes about 550 cartons floor-loaded, which is 3,850–5,500 kg. A 40 ft high-cube takes up to 1,120 cartons, or 7,840–11,200 kg. In sealed packaging, stored cool and dry, the product holds 18–24 months in the original bulk bag in cool storage, and 12 months once repacked into retail pouches.
Two numbers in that answer decide most of your cost and risk:
- Carton weight sets your freight per kilogram. Freeze-dried jackfruit is so light that a container fills up by volume long before it reaches its weight limit.
- The barrier bag decides your shelf life. At water activity 0.18–0.25, the fruit pulls moisture through any weak seal or pinhole.
Why does carton weight decide your freight cost?
Because you pay for the container, not the kilogram. A carton of freeze-dried jackfruit holds about 55 litres of space whether it carries 7 kg or 10 kg. The container is full at about 550 cartons either way. The only thing that changes is how many kilograms you are paying to move.
| Net weight per carton | Net kg in a 20 ft container | Freight per kg (example: USD 2,000 per container) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 kg | about 3,850 kg | about USD 0.52 |
| 8.5 kg | about 4,675 kg | about USD 0.43 |
| 10 kg | about 5,500 kg | about USD 0.36 |
The USD 2,000 figure is an example for comparison only. Insert your own freight quote.
A 10 kg fill moves 43% more product in the same box than a 7 kg fill and cuts freight per kilogram by about 30%.
Freight per kg = container freight ÷ (cartons × net kg per carton)
So why not always pack 10 kg? Because the fill weight depends on the cut:
- Dice settle densely, so 10 kg fits comfortably without crushing.
- Pieces sit in the middle of the range.
- Whole bulbs are bulky and fragile. Forcing 10 kg into the carton compresses the lower layers and turns bulbs into fines.
FruitBuys load-plans your cut and carton fill before the container is booked.
What this means for you: pick the heaviest fill your format tolerates without breakage. For dice that is usually 10 kg; for whole bulbs, closer to 7 kg. The difference between dice and whole bulbs shows up twice: once in the price per kilogram, and again in freight.
Floor-loaded or palletized: which loading plan fits your warehouse?
Freeze-dried jackfruit cubes out: the container fills by volume long before it reaches its weight limit. How you use that space decides two costs, ocean freight per kilogram and unloading at destination.
| Floor-loaded | Palletized (forklift-ready) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cartons per 20 ft | about 550 | 300–320 (10 pallets) |
| Net kg per 20 ft | 3,850–5,500 kg | 2,100–3,200 kg |
| Cartons per 40 ft HC | up to 1,120 | 720–756 (20–21 pallets) |
| Net kg per 40 ft HC | 7,840–11,200 kg | 5,040–7,560 kg |
| Freight per kg | Lowest | Higher: about +50% in a 40 ft HC, up to +80% in a 20 ft |
| Unloading | 3–4 hours, 2–3 workers handling cartons | 15–35 minutes, one forklift driver |
| Handling damage | Moderate; depends on how cartons are handled | Very low; stretch-wrapped pallets with corner boards |
| Best for | Repack plants and factories with low receiving costs | Automated distribution centres in the US, EU, UK and Australia |
Standard pallet configuration on ISO 1.2 × 1.0 m pallets:
| 20 ft container | 40 ft high-cube | |
|---|---|---|
| Pallets | 10 | 20–21 |
| Cartons per layer | 6, interlocked (2 lengthwise, 4 crosswise) | 6, interlocked |
| Layers | 5 = 30 cartons per pallet | 6 = 36 cartons per pallet |
| Pallet height including base | about 1.85 m (container inside height about 2.38 m) | about 2.19 m (inside height about 2.69 m) |
| Cartons per container | 300–320 | 720–756 |
Palletizing costs more in a 20 ft than in a 40 ft high-cube, because the standard container’s height allows only five layers. If you need pallets, ship in 40 ft high-cubes.
Operational rule:
- Specify palletized loading for automated distribution centres, retail chains and any warehouse that receives by forklift.
- Specify floor-loading for dedicated repack plants that receive by hand and want the lowest freight per kilogram.
What packaging protects freeze-dried jackfruit across ocean routes?
Ordinary clear plastic is the main cause of product failure on long routes. Polyethylene lets water vapour through the film, slowly but steadily, over a 30–60 day voyage. At an internal water activity of 0.18–0.25, the fruit pulls that moisture in and arrives soft and discoloured, even though the bag looks perfectly sealed.
FruitBuys packs bulk freeze-dried jackfruit in three barrier tiers:
| Tier | Specification | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Primary bag | Laminated PET/AL/LLDPE, 100–120 µm; WVTR <0.1 g/m²/day, OTR <0.1 cc/m²/day; impulse heat-sealed | Near-zero moisture and oxygen transfer |
| Secondary liner | Heavy-gauge food-grade sleeve, foldable and resealable | Containment, and an airtight reseal if customs opens the carton |
| Master carton | 5-ply double-wall (BC flute), 58 × 28 × 34 cm, ECT ≥44 (equivalent to a 275 lb burst grade) | Holds its stacking strength in humid sea air |
Gentle vacuum and desiccant for every bag, no nitrogen. The same sealing method applies to bulk bags and retail pouches:
- Every bag is lightly vacuumed so it lies flat in the carton, with a food-grade silica gel desiccant in a dust-proof sachet inside (50–100 g in a 1–5 kg bulk bag, a small sachet in retail pouches), then impulse-sealed. The desiccant does the moisture work; the vacuum keeps the pack compact.
- Why not nitrogen: an inflated bag takes more carton space, which raises freight per kilogram, and a 5 kg bag squeezed when the carton closes crushes bulbs and can crack the foil. Nitrogen also does nothing against moisture, which is what softens freeze-dried jackfruit.
What this means for you: check the bag structure and sealing method on the specification, not only the carton. “Food-grade PE bag” is not a moisture barrier for this product.
How do you stop “container rain” on long winter routes?
A container leaving tropical Ho Chi Minh City for North America or Northern Europe in winter crosses from heat to cold in a few weeks. Moisture from the air inside, and from wooden pallets, condenses on the cold steel roof and drips onto the top cartons. Wet cardboard loses its stacking strength, and the lower layers are crushed.
On long winter voyages, FruitBuys protects the cargo in two ways:
- Calcium chloride desiccant poles (1–2 kg) hung along the container walls;
- a protective kraft or PE top sheet over the load before the doors are sealed.
The bags inside keep the fruit dry either way. The aim is that cartons arrive dry, rigid and stackable.
What shelf life is realistic for freeze-dried jackfruit?
18–24 months in the original unopened bulk bag with desiccant, stored cool at ≤18 °C and RH ≤50%, away from light and strong odours; 12 months once repacked into retail pouches, stored at ≤25 °C and RH ≤60%. Default best-before dates are set on 12 months.
Whether your stock reaches the full 18–24 months in the sealed bulk bag depends on three things:
| Factor | Holds the full 18–24 months | Cuts it short |
|---|---|---|
| Bag | Intact aluminium laminate, clean seals | Clear film, pinholes, weak seals |
| Storage temperature | ≤18 °C, steady | Hot warehouses or summer port dwell |
| Humidity | ≤50% RH, sealed until use | Humid stores, cartons opened and reclosed loosely |
Heat matters as much as humidity. Jackfruit carries 18–24° Brix of natural sugar. In a container sitting on a summer quay or in an un-cooled store, it can darken and lose its crunch even inside a sealed bag. Freeze-dried jackfruit ships in a standard dry container year-round; on hot routes, add a thermal reflective liner and keep port dwell short. UAE product registration for freeze-dried jackfruit sets out the Gulf summer plan.
How shelf life is checked: accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) ranks pack formats against each other, and real-time moisture and sensory logs from our retained sample library confirm the 12-month figure. Bulk bags are sized to one production batch: open a bag, use the whole bag. For private label, an accelerated study on your final retail pack is available before you print a longer date.
- Accelerated shelf-life testing. Samples are held in climate chambers at 40 °C and 75% RH for 90–180 days, checking that water activity stays ≤0.30 and the pieces keep their crunch.
- Retained sample library. FruitBuys keeps reference samples from every container lot in a climate-controlled room at 20–22 °C and ≤50% RH for 24 months, the full shelf-life window. If a question comes up at month 10, there is a sample from the same lot to test against yours.
Why does freeze-dried jackfruit turn sticky after opening?
Because its natural sugars pull moisture straight out of the air. Opened in humid conditions, the pieces start to feel sticky within about 30 minutes. Within hours they soften and clump.
This is the most common complaint from plants and retailers, and it starts after the bag is opened. Four habits prevent it:
- Open only what you use in one shift. Buy 1 kg or 2 kg inner bags if your line uses small quantities, rather than opening a 5 kg bag every day.
- Reseal immediately with a heat sealer or a tight clip. Twisting a bag shut does not stop moisture.
- Decant into airtight bins with a food-grade desiccant if the product has to stand open at a dosing station.
- Keep the packing area dry. At or below 40% RH on the line is a good working target for retail packing.
How should freeze-dried jackfruit be stored at your warehouse?
| Situation | Practice |
|---|---|
| Receiving | Check cartons for crush damage and bags for punctures before accepting; set aside any carton with a soft or sticky bag |
| Storage | Below 25 °C and 60% RH; off the floor; away from spices, onions and cleaning chemicals, because the fruit picks up odours |
| Stacking | Do not stack loaded pallets on top of each other, and keep floor-stacked cartons within about 5 high. Beyond that, the bottom cartons may not dent, but the vertical load crushes the porous bulbs inside |
| Stock rotation | First expired, first out; record the lot code against each order |
| After customs inspection | Any carton opened by customs must be resealed airtight on the spot, or used first |
Should you buy bulk cartons or retail packs from Vietnam?
It depends on where the value is added.
- Bulk cartons suit manufacturers and repackers. Freight per kilogram is lowest, and you control the retail pack design locally. Filling one full container instead of shipping LCL typically cuts logistics cost per kilogram by about 15–20%.
- Retail pouches packed in Vietnam (30 g, 50 g, 100 g and 500 g aluminium zip pouches) suit private-label brands without their own packing line. Freight per kilogram is higher, because pouches and their cartons carry more air. In return, the product is sealed once, at origin, and never re-exposed to humid air before it reaches the consumer.
For the cost side of that choice, see how much fresh jackfruit makes 1 kg of freeze-dried. For release limits on moisture and water activity at packing, see what moisture and water activity freeze-dried jackfruit should have.
When packaging alone is not enough
- The product will sit open on a humid line. No bag helps once it is opened. Plan bag size and resealing around your usage.
- The route crosses hot ports in summer. A sealed bag protects against moisture, not against days at 50 °C or more. Use a thermal reflective liner and book clearance so the container moves straight to a cool warehouse.
- You need a very long printed shelf life. Base it on your own retained-sample results at your storage conditions.
Get a packing and loading plan for your order
Tell us your cut, order volume, destination and how your line uses the product. We will propose the bag size, carton fill weight and container plan before booking.
Email [email protected] · WhatsApp Export +84 919 739 589
FAQ
How is bulk freeze-dried jackfruit packed?
In 1–5 kg sealed PET/AL/LLDPE barrier bags inside 5-ply cartons of 58 × 28 × 34 cm, at 7–10 kg net per carton.
How much freeze-dried jackfruit fits in a 20 ft container?
About 550 cartons floor-loaded (3,850–5,500 kg), or 300–320 cartons on 10 pallets (2,100–3,200 kg). For pallets, a 40 ft high-cube takes 720–756 cartons.
Should I choose floor-loaded or palletized?
Palletized for forklift-based warehouses and distribution centres; floor-loaded when the lowest freight per kilogram matters most.
How long does freeze-dried jackfruit last?
18–24 months in the sealed original bulk bag in cool storage at ≤18 °C, RH ≤50%; 12 months once repacked into retail pouches at ≤25 °C, RH ≤60%.
Why is my freeze-dried jackfruit sticky?
It absorbed moisture after opening. In humid air it starts sticking within about 30 minutes. Reseal immediately and store dry.
Is a 10 kg carton always better?
For dice, usually yes: freight per kilogram is lowest. For whole bulbs, a heavier fill crushes the fruit, so 7 kg is safer.
Can freeze-dried jackfruit be shipped in a dry container?
Yes, on every route. For the Gulf from April to October, add a thermal reflective liner and plan fast clearance into a cool warehouse.
About the author. Udo Nguyen is CEO of FruitBuys Vietnam. He coordinates freeze-dried fruit sourcing, qualified partner facilities and export documentation for importers, food manufacturers and private-label brands.
