California citrus and kiwifruit grower Sun Pacific has hit out at ongoing port congestion on the US West Coast, saying slowdowns were costing it US$3m a week during its peak export period.
President of Sun Pacific Al Bates told the San Francisco Chronicle that the port slowdowns were a “disaster”, with the company shipping half of its usual 350 containers.
“The catch is that we’re just starting to hit our peak season, so what was shaping up to be a really good year is quickly turning bad,” said Bates. “You shouldn’t be able to hold an industry hostage. There’s got to be a way that we can continue to operate while they negotiate.”
Bates said growers in the San Joaquin Valley have been forced to leave fruit on trees longer than usual due to avoid rot, meaning fruit was deteriorating, adding that it the port labour disputes were another challenge for growers on top of California's fourth year of drought.
The ongoing dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshoreman Workers Union (ILWU) has seen four months of labour negotiations culminate in 29 ports being shutdown at the weekend. The White House announced it would send US labor secretary Tom Perez to California to intervene in the dispute, one which has impacted the US$1bn citrus export industry during its peak export period to markets such as South Korea, Japan and China.
No comments yet