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Port slowdown hurting meat industry
The meat industry is among those hurt by the labor dispute affecting West Coast ports. Bill Westman, senior vice president of international affairs with the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), says they fear losing the Asian market. Normal shipments of 26-thousand metric tons per month to Asia are now down to zero. Westman tells Brownfield Ag News, “When the work slowdown occurred we had to take all of that product and freeze it. So, we lost a tremendous amount of value of those products right away. We’ve basically filled up the commercial freezers in the West Coast and the Midwest.” Westman says some companies are now looking for storage options on the East Coast.
The financial losses, Westman says, are huge, “Initial loss was about $50-Million {sigh}. We’re estimating a loss of $40-Million per week just on meat products. And, then, most of our hides and skins, 90% go out of the West Coast. That’s an additional $40 to $45-Million dollar per week loss.”
Westman says containers are stacked up and if the dispute were resolved today it would still take at least 45 days to clear up the ports.
AUDIO: Interview with Bill Westman (8:00 mp3):
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