California
Port of Oakland
Top destinations
About half of the shipping containers that leave the Port of Oakland, left, are filled with agricultural products. Photo courtesy of Port of Oakland
Canada
India
China Taiwan
Japan
Mexico
South Korea
European Union
United Arab Emirates
Hong Kong
Philippines
involves several steps. Most crops in California are harvested by seasonal workers and loaded into trailers. From there, trucks typically haul the raw goods to processing facilities such as rice mills, canneries, wineries and packinghouses. After being processed and packaged, most goods bound for foreign markets are loaded into shipping containers and transported by big rigs known as drayage trucks, or freight trains, to ports up and down the state. Agricultural products such as meat, cheese, fruits and vegetables are moved in refrigerated containers on a strict schedule to ensure they remain fresh. Highly perishable products such as cherries and
strawberries go by air freight. Due to its capacity and proximity to the Central Valley, the Port of Oakland is California’s primary port for agricultural exports. California farm products typically fill about one-third of all shipping containers leaving the state’s ports and about half the containers that leave from Oakland. The ports of Stockton, West Sacramento and Humboldt also specialize in agricultural goods. At ports, the containers are loaded onto ships and transported around the world.
Caleb Hampton champton@californiabountiful.com
Rice
Table grapes
Processed tomatoes
Tree nuts
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