Most arrival problems on mango are decided in the forty minutes it takes to load the container, not in the three weeks it spends at sea. A reefer unit can only move air, it cannot remove heat that was never taken out in the first place, and it cannot push air through a pallet stack that was built to block it. This is what a correctly loaded Egyptian mango container looks like.
Pallet base and carton pattern
Egypt loads mango on either the 100 x 120 cm Euro-standard pallet or the 110 x 110 cm pallet, depending on the destination. Gulf and Asian receivers generally accept 110 x 110. European receivers usually want 100 x 120 to fit their own handling systems.
On a standard pallet the 5 kg mango carton builds to 200 cartons, which is 1,000 kg net per pallet. The 5 kg box builds to 180 cartons, or 900 kg net. On a euro pallet the same formats build to 160 and 144 cartons. Corner posts or vertical edge boards are used on any stack above eleven layers, and the pallet is strapped rather than only stretch-wrapped, because full stretch-wrap seals the vent holes and defeats the whole design.
Alignment of vents
Mango cartons carry vent holes on the long sides and often on the ends. Those holes have to line up vertically through the stack. A pallet built with alternating or interlocked layers looks more stable and cools far worse, because each rotated carton closes the vent column below it. Column stacking with aligned vents is the correct pattern for mango. Stability comes from corner posts and strapping, not from interlocking.
Stowage in the container
A 40ft high cube reefer takes 20 standard pallets in a single tier, arranged 10 down each side, plus one euro pallet — 21 in total. In the 5 kg carton that is 4,160 cartons and 20,800 kg net. In the 5 kg box it is 3,744 cartons and 18,720 kg net. Maximum payload on the unit is 25 tonnes, so a mango load in the 5 kg carton runs close to the weight limit rather than under it, and a second partial tier is neither possible nor useful.
Cargo must not block the T-floor at the rear of the unit and must not be stacked above the red load line at the ceiling. Air comes out of the floor, travels the length of the container, and returns over the top of the cargo. If the top of the load reaches the ceiling, the return path closes and the far end of the container never gets cold. Leave the last 30 to 40 cm at the door end free, or fill it with a dunnage bag so pallets cannot shift into the door.
Temperature, humidity and fresh air
Egyptian mango carries at 10 to 12 degrees Celsius supply air for Keitt and Kent on sea freight. Below 10 degrees the risk of chilling injury rises, and the damage appears as grey lenticel spotting and uneven ripening that only shows after the fruit reaches the ripening room. Relative humidity is set at 85 to 90 percent.
Fresh air exchange is set between 25 and 35 cubic metres per hour on a mango load to vent respiratory carbon dioxide and ethylene. Closed vents on mango produce advanced, uneven ripening on arrival. Controlled atmosphere is available on some routes and can extend the useful window, but it needs to be booked with the line well ahead and is not standard on Egyptian mango lanes.
Pre-cooling before the container
Field heat is removed in the packhouse, not in the container. Fruit should be down to carriage temperature before the doors close. Loading warm fruit into a cold container turns a reefer unit into a very slow cold room and costs the shipment days of shelf life. Our note on the Egyptian mango packhouse process covers how that pre-cooling step is sequenced.
What to ask for on the loading file
Request pulp temperature readings taken at loading, a photo set of the built pallets and the stowed container, the reefer set point printout, and the temperature logger placement. Those five items settle almost every arrival discussion before it becomes a claim. Buyers shipping into the Gulf can also review our guide to transit times and documents on GCC routes.
For loading photographs from current shipments, pallet specifications for your receiver, or a quotation on Keitt and Naomi for the remainder of the 2026 season, contact Nile Prime on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918.