How should freeze-dried mangosteen be packed and loaded for export?
In soft-vacuumed foil bags with a silica gel sachet, inside 58 × 28 × 34 cm five-ply cartons, floor-loaded at about 550 cartons per 20ft container in a standard dry box. That set-up keeps whole arils intact and crisp across the sea voyage, with no reefer and no nitrogen. The decision that moves your landed cost most is not the bag or the box: it is the format. The same container carries 3.85 tonnes of whole arils, 5.5 tonnes of diced or 11 tonnes of powder, so freight per kilo can differ by almost three times before a single carton leaves Vietnam.
What goes inside the carton?
| Layer | Specification | What it protects |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk bag | 1–5 kg aluminium-foil PE bag | Moisture and light barrier |
| Inside the bag | Food-grade silica gel desiccant in a dust-proof sachet | Picks up the moisture left in the headspace |
| Sealing | Soft vacuum, no nitrogen flush | Bag sits flat and holds the arils still |
| Carton | 58 × 28 × 34 cm, five-ply corrugated | Stacking strength over the voyage |
| Retail option | 30 g / 50 g / 100 g / 500 g foil zip pouches, or custom | Ready for shelf under your brand |
When your team opens a carton, the bags lie flat and firm, and inside each one the flower-shaped arils sit still and ivory, with no drift of crumbs at the bottom. That first look is what the packing is built for.
Why soft vacuum and not nitrogen? A nitrogen-flushed bag is a pillow. It takes up more carton space, so you pay to ship air, and when cartons are stacked the bags press the fragile arils into each other and crease the foil. A soft vacuum draws the bag gently around the fruit so the arils sit still as one block, and a flat bag stacks without stress. Freeze-dried mangosteen does not need nitrogen to stay fresh; it needs to stay dry, and that is the job of the foil and the desiccant.
Why 1–5 kg bags? Because mangosteen is sweet, at about 70 g of natural sugar per 100 g, and sugar draws moisture the moment a bag is cut open. Bags are sized to the batch your line runs in one shift: open a bag, use the whole bag, and nothing sits half-open in a humid warehouse.
Why are cartons 7, 10 or 20 kg?
Because each format fills the same carton differently.
| Format | Net weight per carton | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Whole arils | 7 kg | Mostly air and fragile; a heavier fill crushes the bottom layer |
| Diced | 10 kg | Pieces settle; no shape to protect |
| Powder | 20 kg | Dense; the carton fills by weight, not volume |
Whole arils are the format buyers worry about most, and the 7 kg fill is the answer. Packed lighter, each bag holds its flower-shaped clusters without weight from above, which is how breakage stays within 10% by weight, counted as fragments under half of a single segment. Intact single segments that separate in transit count as whole product. If your retail pack needs near-perfect pieces, the tray-packed option holds breakage to 5%.
How many cartons fit in a container?
| Container | Loading | Cartons | Whole arils | Diced | Powder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft | Floor-loaded | about 550 | 3.85 t | 5.5 t | 11 t |
| 40ft HC | Floor-loaded, typical loading | about 1,100 | 7.7 t | 11 t | – |
| 20ft | Palletised (on request) | about 240 | 1.7 t | 2.4 t | 4.8 t |
Floor-loading is the default. Cartons go in lengthwise, the 58 cm side along the container, eight across and ten deep, in straight columns. Seven layers fill a 20ft to about 560 cartons with the top layer close to the roof; six layers give about 480 cartons and leave roughly 35 cm of headroom. Choose six layers on routes through the wet season, when condensation forming under a container roof can drip onto the top cartons, and line the walls with kraft paper or keep a 5 cm gap. That is container rain, and the headroom is the cheapest protection against it.
Palletised loading carries less than half the cargo of a floor load. Use it only if your warehouse cannot unload cartons by hand, because the freight per kilo more than doubles. Powder is not loaded to a full 40ft HC. At 1,100 cartons of 20 kg, the box would carry about 22 tonnes of cargo, and with the container and truck on top, the rig runs past road limits such as the US federal 80,000 lb gross vehicle weight limit before it leaves the port. For powder, 20ft containers are the efficient choice.
What does the format do to freight per kilo?
Work it out with your own freight rate:
Freight per kg = container freight cost ÷ net kilos loaded
| Format | Net kilos per 20ft | Freight per kg, as a share of the whole-aril figure |
|---|---|---|
| Whole arils | 3,850 kg | 100% |
| Diced | 5,500 kg | 70% |
| Powder | 11,000 kg | 35% |
Whatever your forwarder quotes, a kilo of diced travels for about 70% of the freight cost of a kilo of whole arils, and a kilo of powder for about 35%. That is the case for putting whole arils only where the shape earns its shelf price, and diced or powder where the fruit disappears into the recipe. Format choice by application is set out in which freeze-dried mangosteen format fits your product.
Does freeze-dried mangosteen need a reefer?
No. At ≤5% moisture and water activity ≤0.30, freeze-dried mangosteen is shelf-stable in a standard dry container, and that saves real money: ocean freight in a dry box typically runs 30–40% below a reefer on the same lane, varying by lane and season, with no reefer plug-in at either port. What it does not tolerate is moisture getting into an opened or damaged bag, which is why the protection sits in the packaging, not in refrigeration. Two route risks are worth planning for:
- Container rain on wet-season routes: choose six layers and wall lining, as above.
- Opened bags at customs inspection: this is where the 1–5 kg bag size earns its keep. If an inspector cuts a bag to sample, the exposure stops at that one bag; every other bag in the carton stays sealed. Ask your forwarder to reseal or set aside any cut bag the same day, and the rest of the lot is untouched.
How long does it keep?
| Storage | Shelf life |
|---|---|
| Unopened bag, ≤25 °C, RH ≤60% | 12 months |
| Unopened bag, cool storage ≤18 °C, RH ≤50% | 18–24 months |
The best mangosteen comes in a window of about ten weeks, from May to mid-July. Those arils are frozen at −25 °C in season and freeze-dried to order through the year, so each container ships with a recent production date and most of its shelf life ahead. Cool storage at your end adds the second option: take a larger lot in one shipment and hold it at ≤18 °C for 18–24 months, so a single booking covers a year of production and your supply contracts are not exposed to a short crop.
If your retail pack carries a longer printed date than the bulk shelf life, run an accelerated shelf-life study on your final pouch. FruitBuys arranges it for private-label programmes, so the date on your pack is backed by data on your own packaging.
Which packing set-up fits your shipment?
| Your situation | Packing | Loading |
|---|---|---|
| Retail snack, whole arils | 1–5 kg bags or retail pouches, 7 kg cartons; tray-packed if near-perfect pieces | 20ft floor-loaded, six layers in the wet season |
| Industrial ingredient, diced | 5 kg bags sized to your batch, 10 kg cartons | 20ft or 40ft HC floor-loaded |
| Beverage or dairy, powder | Bags sized to your batch, 20 kg cartons | 20ft floor-loaded |
| Warehouse without hand unloading | Any format | Palletised, about 240 cartons per 20ft |
| Mixed trial order | Retail pouches or 1 kg bags | LCL or air; expect higher breakage on whole arils through transhipment |
Get the loading plan for your order
Tell us the format, destination port and how your warehouse unloads. FruitBuys returns the carton plan, the container load in tonnes and the packing specification, so your logistics team can book with the real numbers. Full product details are on the freeze-dried mangosteen page. The complete buyer checklist is in what to check before buying freeze-dried mangosteen in bulk.
FAQ
How many cartons of freeze-dried mangosteen fit in a 20ft container?
About 550 floor-loaded: 3.85 tonnes of whole arils, 5.5 tonnes of diced or 11 tonnes of powder.
Why is freeze-dried mangosteen not packed with nitrogen?
Inflated bags waste carton space and press the fragile arils together. Soft vacuum and a silica gel desiccant keep the fruit dry and still.
Does freeze-dried mangosteen need a refrigerated container?
No. It ships in a standard dry container, where ocean freight typically runs 30–40% below a reefer on the same lane.
How long is the shelf life?
12 months at ≤25 °C and RH ≤60%; 18–24 months in cool storage at ≤18 °C and RH ≤50%, in the unopened bag.
Why are whole-aril cartons only 7 kg?
Whole arils are mostly air and fragile. A lighter fill keeps breakage within 10% by weight.
Can I ship freeze-dried mangosteen on pallets?
Yes, on request, at about 240 cartons per 20ft. Floor-loading carries more than twice as much.
