California agriculture lost more than $2 billion in exports as a result of shipping delays between May and September of last year. State senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla penned a letter to 13 major shipping carriers, sharing deep concern that U.S. ag products are unable to secure containers amid a looming global food shortage. The lawmakers urged the carriers to work with the state’s ag producers to ensure products make it to their markets.
According to the letter, nearly 1.4 billion pounds of almonds, requiring more than 30,000 containers need to be moved between now and the end of July this year. However, California’s many perishable products cannot sit that long.
Read more on California’s shipping backlog impacting agricultural products here.
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