Bottlenecks at California ports delay farm exports
$10,000 for a container shipped from China to the U.S., whereas export cargo of U.S. agricultural commodities such as cotton fetches roughly $200 to $600. “Right now, it’s just an absolute night- mare,” said Jim Zion, managing partner of Meridian Growers in Fresno, which exports tree nuts. In addition to a shortage of contain- ers and equipment to move products onto ships, Zion said some freight rates have doubled. Even if he can get a booking, he said, ships will either be delayed or the carrier
will outright deny a container, with some ships bypassing ports with no notifica- tion. The product then sits at the port in- curring detention and demurrage fees, “adding insult to injury,” he added. Because of thedelays, Zion said, inland trucking charges to and from ports have soared. He said the company has been absorbing the increased costs, because they were not originally factored into contracts with buyers. Some exporters say they’ve heard
ByChing Lee Despite mounting calls for federal maritime regulators to address conges- tion, delays and shipping challenges at U.S. ports, California agricultural export- ers say they have yet to see any relief. Since last fall, the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association has reported a surge in cargo volumes that has kept shipping containers sitting longer at California ports. With a reduced port workforce due to the pandemic and relat- ed slowdowns, exporters say bottlenecks have heldupCalifornia agricultural ship- ments—leading to canceled bookings, increased costs and concerns about lost export business. Becauseunloading and reloading ships takesmuch longer and export companies USDA extends disaster program Citing clarifications to program rules and winter storms in some parts of the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is extending the deadline for agricultural producers to apply for the Quality Loss Adjustment Program. The programassists producers, includ- ing those in California, who suffered crop quality losses due to qualifying 2018 and 2019 natural disasters. The USDA said the new deadline will be April 9; the previous deadline had beenMarch 5. USDA identified eligible crops as those for which federal crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Programcoverage is available, except for grazed crops and value-loss crops such as honey, maple sap, aquaculture, flori- culture, mushrooms, ginseng root, orna- mental nursery crops, Christmas trees and turfgrass sod. Additionally, crops that were sold or fed to livestock or that are in storage may be eligible. Assistance is available in counties that received a presidential emergency disaster declaration or secretarial disas- ter designation; for drought, assistance is available in counties rated by the U.S. DroughtMonitor as having aD3 (extreme drought) designationor higher. Producers in counties that did not receive a qualify- ing declaration or designation may still apply, USDA said, but must also provide supporting documentation. The USDA Farm Service Agency will issuepayments once the applicationperi- od ends. If the total amount of calculated QLApayments exceeds availableprogram funding, payments will be prorated, the agency said. To apply, contact a local USDA Service Center. Additional information is also available at farmers.gov/quality-loss. USDA said farmers and ranchersmay ob- tainone-on-onesupportwithapplications by calling 877-508-8364.
in Asia urgently need containers to ship moregoods to theU.S., shipping lineshave reportedly been leaving U.S. ports more often without refilling empty containers with American products, including de- clining to take agricultural exports. Peter Schneider, president of Fresno- based TGS Logistics, said this is because ocean carriers can now be paid up to
See CONTAINERS, Page 16
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March 24, 2021 Ag Alert 3
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