HLB Specialties reports that papaya shipments from Brazil have resumed after being delayed for a about week and a half due to trucker strikes.
Protesting higher gas prices in Brazil, truckers had put in place hundreds of blockades on roads across the country, making airports inaccessible.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based HLB Specialties, Homestead, Fla.-based Brooks Tropicals and Los Angeles-based World Variety Produce reported the strike heavily affected imports, with the last shipments May 21.
HLB director of communications Melissa Hartmann de Barros described an improving situation May 31.
“They have removed most blockades from the road and gas stations are getting refueled, so shipments to Miami are resuming as of tonight,” Hartmann de Barros said. “Shipments to our West Coast facilities are resuming this weekend.”
According to reports, 1.3 million pounds of papayas were not exported during the period of almost two weeks, which translated into a loss for Brazilian papaya producers of roughly $13 million, Hartmann de Barros said.
