Fresh herbs are a 24-hour product. What decides whether they arrive in Rotterdam, Hamburg or London in sellable condition is not the farm alone — it is the distance to the aircraft, the temperature at every handover, and the paperwork that travels with the box. This page sets out the route and the standards it is measured against.
Frankfurt is given as the reference route. Ethiopian Airlines serves further European gateways; tell us your preferred airport and we will quote against it.
Ethiopia is not a country where perishables wait on a hot apron. The Ethiopian Cargo hub at Bole is one of the largest dedicated perishable facilities in Africa, and it is the reason a herb cut in the Rift Valley can be in a European cold store the next morning.
| Perishable cargo capacity | 336,000 t per year on 18,000 m² |
| Cold storage at 2–8 °C | 12,789 m² |
| Cold storage at 15–25 °C | 1,939 m² |
| Temperature-controlled apron dollies | −29 °C to +30 °C |
| Total hub capacity | 1,000,000 t per year on 40,000 m² |
Facility figures published by Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services, Addis Ababa hub.
Most culinary herbs travel best as close to 0 °C as the chain allows. Basil is the exception that costs importers money every season: below roughly 10 °C it suffers chilling injury and blackens within days of arrival. A supplier who packs basil into the same 0 °C pallet as the parsley has already lost the consignment.
| Parsley, chives, mint, rosemary, thyme | 0 °C |
| Basil | 10 °C — never colder |
| Harvest to re-packer or market | under 24 hours |
These are the packing conventions European importers, re-packers and food service buyers work to. We quote against them so that nothing has to be re-explained.
| Trade carton | 10–12 bunches, plastic liner or bag |
| Net weight per carton | typically 1 kg, maximum 3 kg |
| Liner material | perforated PE or PP |
| Retail units | 10–60 g flow pack, tray or clamshell |
| Food service | 50–100 g bags, or 1–2 kg boxes |
| Industrial users | up to 3 kg boxes |
Reference: CBI, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands — market entry requirements for fresh culinary herbs.
A consignment without the right paperwork is a consignment held at the border. Every shipment to the EU is governed by the following.
| Phytosanitary certificate | EU Regulation 2019/2072, inspected in the country of origin |
| Labelling of pre-packed goods | EU Regulation 1169/2011 |
| Hygiene | GHP and HACCP principles |
| Lead | below 0.30 mg/kg |
| Cadmium | below 0.20 mg/kg |
| Perchlorate | below 0.50 mg/kg |
Bunch weight, bunches per carton, cartons per pallet, cut-off times, minimum order quantity and the availability calendar per herb are issued as a written specification sheet, tailored to your destination airport and your packing requirements. Tell us which herbs and which volumes and you will have it in writing.
Request a specification sheet