Risk Assessment Of Maritime Cold Chain Logistics Between Mexico And China

Based on the historical background,Mexico has been playing a very important role in the relationship with China,both countries maintain greater cooperation in establishing an international political and economic relations.The current development of Mexico-China trade is increasing,especially the fruit and vegetable trade.Mexico is among the main countries thaHorticulturet export more agri-food products(FAOSTAT).The development of trade of fruits and vegetables between China and Mexico has been growing,in 2017 Mexico was the world’s largest exporter of avocados and the third berries exporter in China.Fruits and vegetables are perishable foods,which are sensitive to tenperature requirements.Generally,quality degradation of fresh fruits and vegetables in transport and storage is dependent on time,temperature,and other facts,as operation,handling,technology etc.The cold chain logistics give a good guarantee for the trade of fruits and vegetables between China and Mexico.Maritime transport risks have long been a hot topic.Based on a review of the previous research a Delphi expert survey is conducted to validate the risk factors and explore more risk factors that are not mentioned in previous studies in order to expand the coverage of the risk factor identification.The risk factors classification framework is shown in this thesis,this structure will help to clarify the relationships among the different risks step by step,and will provides the basis for the identification of the risk factors.It is composed of four levels:LevelⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,and IV,where the level Ⅰ presents the purpose of this work,that is,to classify the main risk factors in a Maritime Cold Chain Logistics.Level Ⅱ divides the risk factors in two general categories,external and internal risks.Five main risk perspectives are identified from external and internal risks,which are natural environment,management,infrastructure and technology,information flow and physical operations flow,and Finally in the Level IV 23 risk fact are identified,each risk factor will be explained in detail in this thesis.This thesis is compiled in seven chapters.Following the discussion of the research process in Chapter 1,Chapter 2 and 3 reviews the important literature closely related to the current study.It includes the status quo of Maritime Cold Chain Logistics(MCCLs),The emphasis of the thesis start with Chapter 4 and end with Chapter 6.Chapter 4 proposes a structured framework composed of four levels of risk classification and the identification and the values calculated by using the risk matrix and the ALARP principle.In the chapter 5,the analytic hierarchy process theory method(AHP)is selected to establish a risk evaluation model.Finally in the Chapter 6,a case study focusing on the fruits risk assessment maritime cold chain logistics between Mexico and China is conducted.In the Chapter 7 the conclusion of this thesis is given.The Mexican fruits export supply chain still has much to learn.This study will be a step in the right direction for to the development of trade and logistics between Mexico and China,it will help to reduce losses in the cold chain logistics transport,and at the same time provide information for future research.