SANTIAGO: Exporters of Chilean fruit have said that they were sending US shipments to different ports to avoid disruption caused by a dispute between shipping companies and dockworkers on the West Coast, ratcheting up journey times to market.
The dispute has led to a partial shutdown of ports along the West Coast. US Labor Secretary Tom Perez is traveling to California on Tuesday to to try to broker a deal.
Supply chains across the Pacific have been disrupted, with some Asian suppliers turning to costly air freight. The United States is the principal market for Chilean fruit, one of the South American country’s most important export industries after copper. Chile supplies grapes, kiwis, apples and other foods to the Northern Hemisphere during the southern summer and fall.
