Supply Chain Delays Disrupt California Tree Nut Exports

3 years ago 297

MANTECA (CBS) — One of California’s astir invaluable cultivation commodities, histrion nuts, are not immune to the proviso concatenation chaos impacting California ports and beyond.

Right now, obtaining shipping containers and getting bookings with shipping companies to get commodities similar walnuts, pistachios and almonds takes clip and much wealth than it has successful years before.

“Last play I was paying $2,200 per container, present you’re seeing prices adjacent to similar $5,000 oregon $6,000 per container,” said Desiree Silva, vice president of Business Operations astatine California Valley Nut Company.

Silva said she could typically person 10 containers astatine her installation to load with walnuts and instrumentality to the Port of Oakland. Now, she said, she’s fortunate connected days erstwhile she tin get 1 oregon two.

Two truckloads of walnuts were headed retired of the Yuba City office of California Valley Nut Company successful the 2nd week of November. However, the aforesaid merchandise was archetypal acceptable to spell retired October 21. Silva explained, she’s had 5 delays connected this peculiar shipment due to the fact that of larboard congestion oregon a deficiency of disposable containers.

“Because of the congestion of Southern California person opted to skip Oakland to caput backmost to Asia to prevention immoderate clip successful their schedules,” said Andrew Hwang, Manager of Maritime Business Development and International Marketing astatine the Port of Oakland.

Hwang said the Port of Oakland is adding caller nonstop routes to Asia to alleviate immoderate of the backups astatine different California ports.

On the almond broadside of the histrion seed industry, exports aren’t moving arsenic rapidly arsenic they should be.

“We should battalion for each accidental due to the fact that each accidental that is mislaid doesn’t travel again,” said David Phippen with Travaille and Phippen, Inc. This third-generation almond-farming household concern has expanded implicit the years from increasing to see packing and shipping, too.

He said helium utilized to interest astir marketing, whether oregon not determination would beryllium a marketplace for the commodity — not being capable to vessel to radical who privation almonds, not thing connected his radar, typically. The past twelvemonth hasn’t been emblematic and the proviso concatenation disruptions person caused disruptions to Phippen’s day-to-day.

Warehouses that should person products moving done quickly, now, are stored with boxes of almonds acceptable to ship. That causes issues with retention due to the fact that it’s not the astir effectual usage of abstraction — truthful portion the warehouses look full, they could clasp more.

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Luckily, Phippen said, almonds are unchangeable for up to 2 years. That doesn’t mean helium wants to support that merchandise for the play of time, but that helium tin — and won’t suffer wealth connected merchandise if it goes undelivered this season.