Fresh produce wholesalers buy direct from origin for two reasons: it strips out a layer of margin, and it puts the pack specification in the buyer’s hands instead of an intermediary’s. The obstacle has always been volume, because a 40 ft reefer holds 20 standard pallets plus one euro pallet and carries a maximum payload of 25 tonnes.
Part loads remove that obstacle. A half pallet of 100 cartons is a real order at Peivana, and this page sets out the arithmetic: cartons per pallet, what a half pallet costs that a full pallet does not, how a mixed container is built, and what an exporter needs to quote the same day.
Table of Contents
What changes when a wholesaler buys direct
Three things change, and none is simply the price. The pack format becomes a decision rather than an inheritance: you choose the 5 kg carton at 200 to a pallet or the 5 kg box at 180, and you choose the count size against your own customer’s shelf. Fruit, freight and origin charges each appear as their own line instead of arriving fused into one delivered figure. And the season becomes visible: you learn in week 33 that a variety is finishing, not when the offers stop.
What does not change is the risk. Buying direct moves quality inspection, documentation and arrival timing onto your desk. Egypt’s standing in citrus and mango output is tracked in the FAO’s FAOSTAT database, but volume at origin says nothing about whether one packhouse will hold a specification for you. That is what a trial order is for.
Pallet arithmetic: 200 cartons, 1,000 kg net
| Pack format | Cartons per standard pallet | Net weight per pallet | Half pallet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kg carton | 200 | 1,000 kg | 100 cartons, 500 kg |
| 5 kg box | 180 | 900 kg | 90 cartons, 450 kg |
| 4.5 kg carton | 200 | 900 kg | 100 cartons, 450 kg |
Two formats cover almost every order. The 4.5 kg carton is available on request and palletises at the same 200 units, which is 900 kg net per pallet rather than 1,000. There is no 4 kg and no 6 kg carton in the Peivana range. If a competing offer is priced on one of those, your per-kilo comparison is not like for like.
What a half pallet actually costs you
A half pallet does not halve your freight. Freight is billed against the pallet position, and two half pallets moving to two different consignees do not always merge into one position. Where they do not, your 100 cartons carry the freight of 200. Ask whether your half pallet is being consolidated, and with whom.
The second effect is fixed cost. Every shipment carries charges that do not shrink with volume: phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin, bill of lading, export clearance, inspection. Those are billed per shipment, not per carton, so halving the cartons doubles the per-carton share. Ask for that block as its own line; it decides whether a 100-carton trial is worth running. Our note on landed cost per carton follows it to your warehouse door.
Container and trailer capacity: what binds first
| Equipment | Standard pallet positions | Maximum payload | What runs out first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 ft reefer | 20, plus 1 euro pallet | 25 tonnes | Space |
| 20 ft reefer | 10 | 25 tonnes | Space |
| Road reefer | 26 | 25 tonnes | Weight |
Read the last column before planning a load. A 40 ft reefer of mango in the 5 kg carton is 4,160 cartons and 20,800 kg net, inside the 25 tonne cap, so positions run out before weight does. A road reefer is tighter: the 5 kg carton palletises at 190 rather than 200 on a road trailer, so 26 positions carry 4,940 cartons and 24,700 kg net. That is inside the 25 tonne cap with almost no margin, which is why road movements are planned on weight.
How a mixed container is built
A mixed container is one 40 ft reefer divided between products or buyers and built around a single temperature set point. Mango carries at 10 to 12 degrees Celsius, citrus at 4 to 6, table grapes at 0 to 1. Mango cannot share a container with citrus or with grapes: held at a citrus set point it takes chilling injury and will not ripen properly afterwards.
Chilling injury does not show at loading. It shows on your floor, after the container is released and the claim window has narrowed. A loading plan putting mango and citrus in one box is wrong however neatly drawn. The wider rules, including ethylene, are in our guide to mixing products in one Egyptian reefer.
What to send to get a same-day quote
Eight lines are enough: product and variety, count size, pack format, quantity in cartons or pallets, destination port, Incoterm, loading week, and any label requirement. Send those and a price normally comes back the same working day.
Most enquiries are slow to price because they name a product but not a count size and not a destination port. With those two lines we can quote the same day. Without them we are pricing two unknowns at once.
Mohamed Barakat, Export Manager, Peivana
The full checklist is in our note on sending an RFQ to an Egyptian supplier, and realistic opening volumes are in minimum order quantities from Egypt.
Common questions from fresh produce wholesalers
What is the minimum order for fresh produce wholesalers buying direct from Egypt?
A half pallet: 100 cartons and 500 kg net in the 5 kg carton, or 90 cartons and 450 kg net in the 5 kg box. Below that, the fixed shipment charges dominate the per-carton cost.
How many cartons fit on a standard pallet?
200 of the 5 kg carton, which is 1,000 kg net, or 180 of the 5 kg box, which is 900 kg net. Peivana does not pack 4 kg or 6 kg cartons; a 4.5 kg carton is available on request and also palletises at 200, for 900 kg net.
How many pallets fit in a 40 ft reefer?
20 standard pallets plus one euro pallet, maximum payload 25 tonnes. A 20 ft reefer takes 10 standard pallets and a road reefer 26 positions, both capped at 25 tonnes. On the road reefer the weight cap is reached first.
Can different products travel in the same container?
Only where the carrying temperature matches. Mango carries at 10 to 12 degrees Celsius, citrus at 4 to 6, table grapes at 0 to 1. Mango cannot share with citrus or grapes, because the lower set point causes chilling injury that is invisible at loading.
Is buying direct from origin cheaper than buying from a domestic wholesaler?
Usually on the fruit price, not always on the landed cost. Direct buying transfers freight, clearance, documentation and quality risk to you. Compare landed cost per carton at your own door, never an FOB price against a delivered price.
How quickly can an Egyptian exporter quote a part load?
Normally the same working day, if the enquiry names product and variety, count size, pack format, quantity, destination port, Incoterm and loading week. A missing count size or destination port is the usual cause of delay.
Pricing a part load from Egypt
Peivana is the exporter here, not a neutral adviser. What we offer a fresh produce wholesaler is a starting quantity of one half pallet and a quote normally turned around the same day. Send the product, count size, pack format, quantity, destination port, Incoterm and loading week, and we will tell you plainly if the quantity is too small to move economically. WhatsApp +20 10 9911 1918.
Written by the Peivana export desk. Peivana is an Egyptian fresh produce exporter. Last updated 26 August 2026.