Asoex is forecasting an increase in fruit exports to the US in 2014/15 in spite of the disruption caused by the West Coast port dispute. Speaking to Fruitnet, president Ronald Bown said the industry remained hopeful of a quick resolution as it was announced that US secretary of labour Thomas Perez had met with both sides in the dispute on Tuesday to urge them to go back to the bargaining table.
“While this is a serious issue that demands immediate attention, it has not yet impacted on our export programme to the US. With the diplomatic actions undertaken by the Chilean government and the appointment of Thomas Perez to mediate we are confident that the conflict will be resolved quickly and that Chilean exports to North American will still grow by 5-7 per cent over last year,” Bown said.
“It is certainly in the best interest of all parties that there is a swift resolution to the situation and once it is over we would like the perishable products to be given priority as vessels are unloaded.”
Bown acknowledged that the capability of exporters to fulfil commitments to their customers had been affected after unloading times had more than tripled in recent weeks. He said the three ships already in the Los Angeles are and the five expected to arrive in mid-March could not be diverted because fruit required specific treatment that was only available at the port.
“Some shipments have been reprogrammed to different ports on both the West and East Coast, including Hueneme, Houston and Philadelphia amongst others, and this could become more common place in the mid-term if the conflict continues,” Bown explained. “Also, some exporters have adopted a strategy of shipping to the East Coast and then moving the cargo via trucks across the US to meet their commercial agreements, but this is not ideal as it adds cost and is challenging for fruit condition upon arrival.”
With a more favourable exchange rate and strategies in place to handle future port disruptions at home, Asoex also remains optimistic about the industry’s overall prospects for the 2014/15 season. Speaking earlier this month at a press conference at Fruit Logistica, Bown said the industry expected export volumes to recover following last season’s fall.
The total fruit volume shipped to week 5 was at a similar level to last season, but while sendings of cherries, blueberries, nectarines and plums were all up significantly on last year, the drought in northern Chile has affected exports of early table grapes.
Looking ahead, Asoex predicted that 2015 will be a challenging season for apples and pears, with higher stocks in Europe and the US and an abundance of fruit from countries like Poland affected by the Russian ban leading to heavily oversupplied markets. The apple export crop is expected to weigh in at 800,000 tonnes while pear volumes are said to be up 19 per cent on last season at 138,000 tonnes.
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