The long-running seaport labor conflict has cost the state’s fruit industry more than $70 million in sales, both in canceled orders and lost opportunities to sell the fruit to overseas customers, industry officials said Friday.
Since work slowdowns at 29 ports on the West Coast started in October, the state’s fresh apple and pear shippers have missed out on millions upon millions in sales, said Kate Woods, vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Association, a Yakima-based group that represents the tree fruit industry in legislative and trade issues. That does not include indirect expenses, such as extra cold-storage costs or surcharges imposed by importers.
“In addition to the significant losses this situation has caused this season, we are concerned that the inability of our growers to reliably deliver their products to their customers may jeopardize their permanent market share in these countries,” Woods said in an emailed statement Friday.
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