West coast port problems resurface
The US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has said exporters of beef from the US to Asia are experiencing disruption because of congestion at ports on the west coast of the US.
USMEF director Travis Arp has said congestion at ports, particularly at the Long Beach-Los Angeles port complex in California, has intensified in recent weeks with an increase in the number of vessels arriving from Asia.
Mr Arp said the problem had been exacerbated by the effects of covid-19; labour availability at ports in the US has been reduced because of the pandemic.
He also said companies in Asia are paying premiums to have shipping containers returned to them as quickly as possible, which frequently means the containers go back empty rather than wait for US exporters to fill them first.
USMEF said it was working with other trade associations to raise awareness of the situation. It said a backlog had the potential “to impact the entire red meat supply chain and many other sectors of US agriculture”.
This means the shipment of hides from the US to tanners in Asia could also be affected.
