Produce is taking weeks to arrive
Shipment delays may increase food safety risks, prices, business expenses
While global supply chains buckle under the weight of increased demand and widespread worker shortages, Ontario’s food wholesalers are facing delayed produce shipments that threaten to hamper their products’ shelf-life and raise consumer costs.
At the Ontario Food Terminal, Canada’s largest wholesale fruit and distribution centre, the Ontario Produce Marketing Association (OPMA) says fresh produce now takes roughly three to four weeks to arrive from overseas, marking a seven- to 10-day delay compared to PRE-COVID delivery times.
Produce such as grapes, bananas, berries and citrus, imported from Asia and the Global South, are stuck in shipping containers at ports along North America’s east-coast entry points while truckers wait in line to transport them to Toronto.
Larry Davidson, CEO of North American Produce Buyers, says the shipment delays have caused the company to hike expenses and reroute imports.
“From an overseas shipping perspective, it’s a nightmare,” Davidson told the Star.
The Toronto-based company typically imports its foreign produce to shipping ports in Wilmington, Del., and Philadelphia, Pa., before crossing into Canada by truck. However, between port congestion, ocean travel time and clearance measures with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Davidson says his produce is now arriving 10 days later than normal.
While the delays have already resulted in higher food prices and business expenses, some experts warn the supply chain snag could also increase risks in food safety and quality assurance measures.
“With these kinds of backlogs, you could end up selling produce that is closer to expiry or, at worst, might contain bacteria that force grocers to recall the product,” said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University who researches food distribution and policy.
For Ontario’s food wholesalers, November marks the beginning of an annual transition from fresh fruit and local produce to overseas imports from countries with warmer climates. While Canada’s growing fields cover with frost, companies like North American Produce Buyers turn to exporters in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East for their supply of berries, citrus and vegetables.
Supply issues are not unfamiliar territory for the produce industry, which navigates weather conditions and shipping capacity to import products to Canada. But the OPMA says the increased costs and delays along the supply chain this year have challenged the economic viability of businesses in the sector.
For produce businesses, the cost of shipping containers has tripled in the past year, with estimates increasing from $3,000 per container to between $15,000 and $18,000, according to the OPMA.
President Michelle Broom says she has seen container costs go as high as $25,000.
“We expect that those costs could continue to trend higher through the end of the year, as driver shortages and holiday surges challenge supply chains,” Broom told the Star.
To spread risk, North American Producer Buyers has arranged for its imports to arrive at several ports across North America including in Miami, Fla., and Galveston, Texas.
It has also increased transportation expenses by raising wages for truckers and paying a premium to fly produce from the ports to the food terminal.
Steve Bamford, president of Bamford Produce, says the company’s increase labour costs have created the “biggest struggle” for the company as Canada faces a shortage of employees across the industry.
The trucking industry was short 18,000 drivers during the second quarter of 2021, according to Trucking HR Canada, leading companies reliant on transported goods to entice new workers with higher wages.
The heightened costs associated with the supply chain crisis appear to have trickled down to consumers. A recent report by Dalhousie University’s Agrifood Analytics Lab, authored by Charlebois, pegged food inflation at five per cent over the last year.
Charlebois attributed the rise to a range of pressure points, including labour costs, climate change and logistics.
In a joint statement issued last week, companies in the North American produce industry issued a stern warning to governments to “work urgently” to prevent food insecurity and shortages.
“Without multilateral engagement to find solutions, these issues will create long lasting impacts to the detriment of all North American economies. These include: bankruptcies, legal disputes, industry consolidation, inflation, inaccessible food supplies, and many more,” the statement read.
“Time is against us, and the necessity of addressing these challenges now cannot be understated.”