Exports fight for shipping windows

Exporters are starting to feel the impact of shipping problems, as vessels skip or stay shorter periods at ports, and empty containers remain unevenly spread throughout the country.

More than 50 containers of export onions, collectively worth about $600,000, missed their ship to Europe at Port of Tauranga last week, just as the onion export season hits its peak.

Onions NZ chief executive James Kuperus said the exporters concerned were hoping to catch the next ship in a week but it was happening to growers every week. ‘‘We are trying to export to Spain and Germany right now; we have got a very short market window.

‘‘If you miss by a week you might also miss your customers’ requirements by a week as well ...

‘‘If things arrive a week or two late, it is very hard to convince the consumer to eat some more onions at a later date.’’

With apples and kiwifruit also coming into peak harvest time, Kuperus said it was ‘‘a very stressful time’’ for exporters.

‘‘For onions, it takes about eight months to grow and harvest them and it is heartbreaking when you get to this stage and you can’t get them to the markets.’’

The cargo was being missed because some ships were racing to catch up on their schedules after delays and they were doing that by skipping ports or cutting short their visits.

New Zealand exports $150 million in onions a year with 60 per cent of the crop grown in Pukekohe which exports through Auckland or Tauranga.

Meanwhile, in Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu¯ and Canterbury, ‘‘onions are in the packhouse ready to go’’ but exporters were having difficulty finding empty containers, Kuperus said.

The apple export season is also in full flight.

Murray Tait, of fruit exporter Te Mata Exports in Havelock North, said his company had not had any cargo bypassed.

But the availability of empty containers was becoming a real issue, depending on the shipping line, and there were also logistical issues with ship arrivals.

Because of the disruption, ports around the country were no longer guaranteeing fixed berthing slots to vessels and it was now a ‘‘first come, first served’’ basis, he said.

Simon Beale, chairman of the Council of Cargo Owners, which represents the country’s major exporters, said bigger exporters would be fine but “everything’s very tight”. Maersk and other shipping lines had sent ships into Auckland to try and get some containers out.

“The container yards that were under pressure, they were well over 100 per cent full, they’re seeing a bit of light.”