Despite the record apple crop in the US, importers in Chennai complain they are getting only half their shipments. A long drawn labour dispute at the West Coast ports in the US has been threatening shipment to the lucrative overseas market.

The 2014 Washington apple crop is estimated at 155 million boxes, 35 per cent higher than the 115 million boxes last year. However, inventory has been building up at ports in the US given the work slowdown, sources said.

Instead of shipping apples to profitable markets such as India and China, they are instead being sent to Mexico and Canada via trucks. The crisis in the midst of a banner apple production year has cut down shipments to almost half, with some estimates suggesting that growers are losing around $1 million a week.

Senior officials of Washington Apple Commission, a US-based agency that promotes apple exports from the orchards of Washington State, were in Chennai last week, on an annual visit. “We met several importers who said they were not getting what they would like to get in terms of sizes or boxes,” said Keith Sunderlal, CEO, SCS Group, the in-country representatives of the Washington Apple Commission (WAC).

“The port slowdown has delayed shipments. Earlier, fruits could be shipped in 30-35 days, now it takes 50 days,” he added.

In terms of sales volume, South India is one of the largest regions for Washington apples, Sunderlal said. He added: “Chennai is a big import point with its ports. Fruits are then distributed across South India to Hyderabad and Kochi. Bengaluru is also a growing market.” In the current season, India is among the fifth largest markets for Washington Apples, behind Canada, Mexico, China and Taiwan. The latter has shot ahead of India in importing more apples from the US.

“Some markets (countries) take fruit early and some late. Currently, we are only five months into the season. Sales in India have been growing at a steady clip of 20 per cent per year for the last several years. However, there are year-to-year anomalies, since the crop (amount) changes every year, and so does the sizing of the crop,”.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com