The Washington Apple Commission (WAC) has welcomed news that a tentative agreement has been reached between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehousw Union (ILWU).
An labour agreement was reached between the two parties on 20 February, following months of port slowdowns culminating in 29 ports along the US West Coast being shutdown at the Presidents’ Day long weekend.
While port work has now resumed, it will take several weeks before the regular shipping schedule is back on track, with the disruptions already costing the US apple industry millions of dollars in lost export opportunities, according to WAC.
“With our record crop this season, we have missed critical shipping opportunities for festive seasons such as Christmas and Chinese New Year.” WAC president Todd Fryhover said in a statement released 23 February. “However, we still have ample supplies of high quality Washington apples in storage and will be working with our foreign market partners to make sure that consumers continue to have Washington apples available throughout the spring and summer.”
Fryhover said that WAC representatives in overseas markets would be scheduling promotions to support the delayed shipments.
This season, the Washington apple industry is sitting on a record crop, with an estimated crop of 147.5m cartons, one-third of which is usually exported. Producing 60 per cent of the apples in the US, Washington state apples account for more than 90 per cent of total apple exports, according to WAC.
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