West Coast port labor agreement good news for Washington apples

The tentative agreement between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) is positive news for the Washington apple industry, which has seen several challenges on the export front during the current season. The deal struck on Friday means that normal work flow is being resumed at the 29 ports on the US West Coast, including the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma which are responsible for much of the apple export volume out of Washington State.

“With our record crop this season, we have missed critical shipping opportunities for festive seasons such as Christmas and Chinese New Year.” stated Washington Apple Commission President Todd Fryhover. “However, we still have ample supplies of high quality Washington apples in storage and will be working with our foreign market partners to make sure that consumers continue to have Washington apples available throughout the spring and summer. Our foreign market representatives are scheduling promotions for later in the spring to support shipments that may have been delayed due to the port slowdown.”

It will still take several weeks for the ports to resume regular shipping schedules, although ports up and down the west coast were reportedly requesting additional labor through the weekend to help get through the backlog. Ships have been backed up in harbors waiting to unload and load with containers delayed by two to three weeks, resulting in millions of dollars of lost sales opportunities for the apple industry alone over the past three months.

Washington State produces approximately 60% of the apples in the United States, but is responsible for over 90% of the exports. In a normal season, Washington exports one-third of its production outside of the US, which in the 2013-14 season totaled over $780 million.