Port of Oakland launches program to expedite ag exports
The Port of Oakland is set to launch an interagency effort to improve the flow of agricultural exports at the Port, according to a press release.
The program involves the use of additional yard space and equipment, restored export ship calls, and assistance to export users. The goal is to provide relief to agricultural exporters who are facing shortages of export capacity and skyrocketing logistics costs.
The Port will open and operate a 25-acre, off-terminal, paved container yard equipped to move containers off chassis and store them for rapid pick-up, the release said. The yard will provide access to equipment and provide faster truck turns without having to wait for in-terminal space.
The Port of Oakland is the preferred export gateway for much of California’s agricultural exporters. Under normal circumstances, the cargo volume at the Port is approximately 50% exports and 50% imports providing a match between inbound cargo and emptied containers for exports, the release said. However, the current import surge clogging up the ports is displacing ships and containers that are available to exporters, especially shipments of farm goods. The Port saw significant drops in export volume because of skipped sailings of crucial export lines and lack of equipment for export cargo, according to the release.
The situation was the catalyst for a convening of state and Port officials with farm producers and transportation executives to solve a year-old shipping crisis, the release said. The meeting was led by Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, David S. Kim, state transportation agency secretary, and Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture secretary. Participants included seaport stakeholders within the broad and varied agricultural commodity sectors, freight forwarders, and trucking and warehousing operators. The meeting resulted in a list of potential solutions to unclog the supply chain for agriculture exports.
“We need the shipping companies to immediately restore the export lines from Oakland to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent,” Bryan Brandes, Port of Oakland maritime director, said in the release.
“In the meantime, the Port, along with our federal and state partners, is ready to do everything we can to help provide room and relief to help our agricultural customers,” Danny Wan, Port of Oakland executive director, said in the release.
