b'16American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comLatin American fresh produceA South American fruit jam exports to US rising in PhillyBy Tad Thompson, AJOTBy Tad Thompson, AJOT The matter of Chilean andissues making a perfect storm Peruvian fruit seasons createdofproblemsearlythisyear. ProduceimportsintothePeruhadthefastestgrowthdent, Capespan North Amer- seriousproblemsinPhiladel- The jam was acerbated by a United States have been grow- infreshfruitexportstotheica Inc., based in Montreal, isphia-area seaports over the lastsubstantial lack of fumigation ingandnowaccountforUS, led by fresh blueberries.amongthosemarketingfruittwowintertimefruitseasons,space. Another key factor was roughly half of the countrysPerusvolumehascertainlyimported from Chile and Peru.particularly early in 2022.WestCoastportcongestion. total consumption.increased since 2019. Greenberg indicates Capes- With late harvest periods,Anticipating delays, Peruvian And Latin Americas sharepan will import Chilean tablePeruvian fruit volumes, whichshippers diverted volumes to isgrowingledbyUSMCAc hilE anDP Eru grapesandstonefruit,asroutinelyarriveinDecembertheDelawareRiver,instead partner Mexico accounting for Chiles success in grapesalways. But We will focus onand January, docked in Phila- of Pacific ports. This coming around $38 billion or over 74%and stone fruit production andPeru in the early season. Fruitdelphia in February and Marchseason, that unexpected volume of the countrys total exportsexports led to extended prod- from northern Peru will arrive2022.Thesearethemonthswillnotlikelyarrive.That totheU.S.asreportedinuct lines, including but by nofortheCanadianmarketbywhen Chile was going at fullwillrelievepressurehere, WTO(WorldTradeOrga- meanslimitedtoavocados,secondweekofNovember.speed, notes Peter Kopke, Sr.,he said. nization)figures.Butothermangoes,citrus,andberries.Then,Capespanwilltransi- presidentofthefruitimportEric Coty, vice president LatinAmericancountriesSuccessinnorthernChiletion to Chile and South Africacompany, Wm. H. Kopke Jr.,ofSouthAmericanopera-(LACs) like Chile, Peru andextended to similar productionin the New Year.Inc., based in Great Neck, NY.tions for the Vancouver, BC-Brazil are planting the seedsin Peru, which enjoys advan- Philadelphia port storage facili- based importer and marketer for a larger slice of U.S. pro- tages that have made Peru theP Eru isr oaring ties were at maximum capacityOppy,similarlyindicated, duce import market. emerging young, roaring lionGreenberg notes, Peru isand normally efficient fumiga- Asignificantchallengefor AccordingtotheUSDAin global fruit trade.(EXPORTScontinued ontors were severely backed up.(JAMcontinued on (UnitedStatesAgriculturalMarkGreenberg,presi- page 20) Kopkecitesalitanyofpage 23)Department)estimatespub-lishedinMay,importsfrom SouthAmericainFY2022 are projected to rise $2.2 bil-lionfromtheFebruaryfore-cast to $20.1 billion. Imports fromBrazilareexpectedto increase$900millionfrom the previous estimates due to greater expected sales values ofcoffeeandbeefproducts,We Shipwhile Chile (up $200 million), Colombia (up $300 million), and Peru (up $600 million) are expected to supply more agri-culturalproductsthanwere forecast back in the FebruaryYour trusted partner for project cargo logisticsreport.TheUSDAexpects increasesintheimportsof poultry, cut flowers and nurs-erystock,coffee,andfresh fruitfromthosecountriesto buoy the total. The rise in LAC fruit and vegetable exports to the U.S. is attributable to a number of trends.AccordingtoRural MigrationNewsBlog203, Oversized MaterialspublishedinFebruary2021 byTheUniversityofCali-General Cargofornia-Davis.Theshareof importsisrisingformany Temperature Controlledfruitsandvegetablesdueto higher U.S. incomes that sup-portayear-rounddemand Pharmaceuticalsforfreshproduce,healthier eating,andfreertradewith Hazardous Materials countriesthatexportfresh fruits and vegetables. High Value Goods The Cal-Davis report notes thatthetopfivefreshfruit importsaccountedforthree-Live Animalsfourths of the $14 billion of all US fresh fruit imports in fiscal year 2019. This is led by $3.3 billionworthofberries,$2.7 billion in avocados, $2.2 billion worth of bananas, grapes with a value of $1.6 billion, and $800 million in pineapples. The value of berry imports rosefastestoverthepast decade,whilethevalueof+305.407.3125 [email protected] imports fell. As noted above, Mexico provided over half of U.S. fresh fruit imports byvaluein2019,export-ing fresh fruit worth over $7 billion,followedbyChile, $1.8billion,andGuatemala andPeru,$1.2billioneach.'