Southern Hemisphere fresh produce body warns of major disruption to global supply chains, negative market stability, and higher prices for consumers
The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (Shaffe) has sent a letter to US president Donald Trump expressing “significant concern” about the implications of the recently-introduced reciprocal tariff policy.
The letter, signed by Shaffe president Nathan Hancock, warned that the imposition of tariffs on fresh fruits imported into the US would cause major disruptions for global supply chains, negatively affect market stability, and raise consumer costs.
”The fresh fruit trade is uniquely complex,” Shaffe pointed out. ”It is shaped by seasonal and regional factors that require a well-functioning market to ensure year-round availability.
”Supply chains and trade relationships take years to build, and existing production and distribution infrastructure cannot be easily shifted towards other origins or destinations in reaction to shifts in trade policy agendas.
”Once businesses lose market share, reclaiming it is difficult (if not impossible), dealing a lasting blow to an industry vital to food security and economic stability,” the letter read.
”But tariff increases do not only disrupt global supply chains; they also reignite inflation pressures and limit consumer choice in the United States of America.”
The US imports roughly 60 per cent of its fresh fruits, and 40 per cent of its vegetables, with Mexico accounting for over two thirds of total vegetable imports, and more than half of all fruit imports, Shaffe noted.
Retailers are reliant on tropical and counter-seasonal fruits imported from the Southern Hemisphere, ensuring year-round availability of fresh fruits in the US and reducing price fluctuations.
”By ensuring that retailers’ shelves remain stocked when the fruit production season in the United States ends, our fruits help maintain consumer demand and strengthen consumer habits,” Shaffe continued.
”Furthermore, imports of counter-seasonal fruits allow US operators to fully exploit their existing infrastructure and supply chains, even when domestic fruits are out of season. This lowers operators’ costs – and ultimately consumer prices.”
Thus, the industry body outlined, the ability of US traders to import – and export – fruit without undue restrictions benefitted American consumers and the economy: consumers got the products they wanted when they wanted them, and two-way trade boosted the economy and created jobs.
”Contrary to your administration’s claims, import tariffs are not paid by other nations – they are paid by importing companies, who then pass these costs on to consumers,” Shaffe continued.
”It has been estimated that the tariffs unveiled on 2 April will cost each American household US$5,000 per year, dealing a huge blow to working and middle-class families.
”With the average household currently spending over US$600 per year on fresh fruits, consumers will feel the impact of the tariffs hard – and fast.”
Shaffe pointed to the importance of fresh fruits to the health of consumers, and highlighted how a growing share of the US population was consuming below a quarter of the amount of fruit recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
And It was not just consumers who would be hit by the tariffs, Shaffe said.
”American farmers heavily rely on imported agricultural inputs (such as fertilisers and machinery parts),” it explained. ”Higher costs for these inputs would further strain an industry already struggling with rising production and distribution expenses – which will ultimately be reflected in the price for groceries paid by consumers.
”This result is the opposite of the administration’s pledge to bring down grocery prices for Americans, and inconsistent with the government’s broader policy goals to improve food affordability and food security.”
The global trade in fresh fruits was essential to the health and well-being of people in every nation, Shaffe stated, and was also an integrated and highly complex supply chain that included many trading partners across the globe.
”We therefore strongly encourage you to exempt fresh fruits from any tariff or other measures that could undue and lasting harm to growers, businesses, and consumers, in the United States of America and beyond,” the letter concluded.
