SANTIAGO: A labour dispute at ports on the West Coast of the United States has forced Chilean fruit exporters to ship their cargo to other terminals, thus increasing the time of arrival to the U.S. market, as reported by the Chilean Exporters Association.
“Some exporters have adopted the strategy of making their shipments to the East Coast and then using road transport, crossing the entire United States, in order to meet their business commitments, which entails higher costs and challenges for the arrival of the fruit in good condition,” said the president of ASOEX, Ronald Bown. Chile exports grapes, kiwis, apples and other foods to the Northern Hemisphere during the austral summer; shipments which have been affected by a sit-down strike which slows down the unloading process in a country that happens to be the main market for Chile’s fruit, according to the association.
At the moment, three ships are at sea waiting to dock, with around 45 million dollars’ worth of goods, with five other ships scheduled for mid-March.
Supply chains in the Pacific have been affected, leading some Asian suppliers to opt for the more expensive air transport. U.S. Secretary of Labour, Tom Pérez will travel to California to help mediate between shipping companies and port workers. “ASOEX hopes the situation will normalise as soon as possible and will be requesting the Chilean diplomatic authorities in that country to act on solving the problem,” Bown said.
So far, the shipments of Chilean fruit have been redirected to the ports of Houston and Philadelphia, and this week they could also start arriving to Miami. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, the closest port to California, delays of no less than 10 days in the unloading are being registered, according to the Directorate of International Economic Relations of Chile (Direcon). About 30% of Chile’s fruit exported to the United States usually reaches its destination via the affected ports.
