New Orleans keeps Chiquita on board at Gulfport port
Chiquita containers filled with paper arrive by truck and rail at Gulfport's port, where they are stored until they can be moved to New Orleans for southbound shipments. Along with its own cargo, port tenant Crowley is shipping into the state port northbound Chiquita containers loaded with produce.
Chiquita moved to New Orleans in October after 40 years in Gulfport. Its containers were supposed to be completely cleared out of Gulfport by Dec. 31.
"We received a call from them to provide them assistance and we've been working with them during the past month on handling paper for southbound shipments," state port director Jonathan Daniels said. "We expected when they left here that all cargo and activities would cease at the port. We're continuing to work with them to alleviate congestion issues at the port of New Orleans with their paper."
Matt Gresham, director of external affairs at the New Orleans port, said the congestion was "totally expected."
He said container volume at the Port of New Orleans increased by 9 percent in 2014. Several construction projects are under way on the container terminal, he said. A new rail terminal will increase cargo capacity. A refrigerated racking system should be completed by year's end for storage of produce, chickens and other cargo that needs refrigeration.
Chiquita, Gresham said, also has ordered equipment for an off-site ripening facility. Meanwhile, he said, the company's ripening facility near the interstate in Gulfport is still in use.
Daniels said the Gulfport port is charging Chiquita for warehouse and ground storage space under the same rate structure used while the company was a tenant. He was unable to say how many Chiquita containers have moved in and out of the port since January.
Chiquita announced its move to New Orleans when the company was supposed to merge with Irish fruit company Fyffes, but that plan fell through. The company in January was acquired by Brazilian companies Cutrale Group and Safra Group.
"We'll continue to work with them as long as we can to see if this will develop into something long term," Daniels said. "We just don't know."
A Chiquita spokesperson did not return a telephone call from the Sun Herald on Tuesday.
Source: www.sunherald.com