USDA moves to help ease port congestion
The port of Oakland in California is to set up a new 10-hectare site in partnership with the US department of agriculture.
Both organisations have said this initiative will make it easier for companies in the agricultural sector to fill empty shipping containers with commodities.
Fewer containers have been available to US providers of agricultural commodities in recent months, as ocean carriers have circumvented traditional marketing channels and rushed containers back to Asia even when empty.
From the start of March, this new site will provide space to prepare empty containers for agricultural companies to fill with commodities, relieving congestion at the port. The new site will also have a dedicated gate with the ability to pre-cool refrigerated shipping containers to receive perishable commodities.
