The ongoing impact of Chile’s recent port strike has left many USsupermarkets with a shortage of citrus and apples, despite dockers andtruckers returning to work two weeks ago.
According to a market report from US importer Fisher Capespan, althoughsupplies are now returning to normal, arrivals of Chilean produce inthe US have been “light” in recent weeks leading to a “continuedshortage” of the fruit in US supermarkets.
The report, from Fisher Capespan’s senior vice president forprocurement, Mark Greenberg, revealed that the light arrival volumesand consequent high prices meant there was “very little momentum” incitrus sales in the US.
Mr Greenberg said that following the strike, there had been a“substantial decline” in fruit arrivals to the US of clementines,lemons and the major apple varieties. In particular, he said clementinearrivals were down by 88 per cent on the same period of last year,while lemon arrivals had fallen by 77 per cent.
However, Mr Greenberg said that as of Week 26, US importers wereexpecting to receive the first significant volumes of South Africanclementines on the US east coast, which is expected to start to closethe supply gap.
