Mexico: loads of fresh fruits and vegetables at the Port of Philadelphia increased by 19%

By Luis Bringas

During a meeting with a business mission composed of Mexican producers, at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia, the representative of the Port Authority of this American city (Philadelphia Regional Port Authority), Sean Mahoney, reported that, during 2015, the movement of fruit and vegetables perishables in the terminal of Philadelphia (Philadelphia Wholesale produce Market), registered an increase of 19% in products such as avocados, bananas, broccoli, carrot, garlic, lemons, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, tomatoes and peppers.

The representative of the Port Authority of Philadelphia stated that according to the latest report of 2015, 268.319 tons were received, compared to 225.294 tons in 2014. It also noted that during the past six years, the growth of the total load has been 68%.

According to Mahoney, the success of the port terminal is related to the government’s efforts to improve infrastructure Philadelphia storage and handling of fresh produce to meet changing market needs. In this regard he noted that for many years, the burden of perishable products from Mexico has moved overland, constantly saturating the inputs of the border, especially in Arizona and Texas tickets. In this regard, Tom Krajewski, from Company Holt Logistics Corp, has also mentioned that for more than two years have been making investments and negotiations to improve infrastructure, as nearly 95% of vegetables and fruits are moved by road .

Significant Savings

As referred by the consul of Mexico in Philadelphia, Carlos Giralt Cabrales, the opportunities offered by the service ocean freight of perishable products are be of high efficiency and allow significant savings in costs and delivery times that cover 40% the population of the United States. In the case of avocado from Michoacan, he said they are generating significant savings in transport costs, since land the Uruapan-Philadelphia route is over 4,151 km, while Uruapan Veracruz-Philadelphia route is only 771 km.

He also mentioned that most of the producers of Mexico, are used to move their products by road, but to the increased costs are seeing the possibility of using the weekly services between the ports of Veracruz, Altamira and the port terminal of Philadelphia, featuring the atlantic ferry of SeaLand, a subsidiary of Maersk Group.

For its part, the director of the Unit for the Promotion of Exports of Pro-Mexico in Veracruz, State of Veracruz, Luis Manuel Cuevas Padilla, stressed that thanks to joint investment of public and private sector in both countries, can be achieved great benefits to increase the supply of vegetables and fruits in the market of eastern United States with very competitive prices.

It has also indicated that the Philadelphia Business Mission opens the doors for Mexico producers who want to take advantage of new reforms and the availability of more modern infrastructure. He also highlighted the opportunity that exists for producers of coffee and cocoa, as the terminal Philadelphia is recognized as one of the main sites for these grains, with a volume of more than 100.000 tons annually.

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