Panama Canal could impact U.S. onion industry
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Peruvian onion imports have tripled in the last three years.
According to a June 27 USA TODAY story, “Bigger ships: Panama celebrates opening its expanded canal” by Rick Jervis, stats indicated the expansion has nearly tripled the capacity of the canal.
Ships once “restricted” to carrying 5,000 containers will now be able to accommodate 14,000 containers.
Jervis wrote, “The new set of locks now allows ships carrying up to 14,000 containers, known as neo-Panamax ships, to cut a quicker path between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. U.S. ports have been investing billions of dollars to expand their facilities in a race to accommodate the mega ships.
The cautionary note raised at the Ontario meeting, where onion grower/shippers gathered to discuss the possibility of establishing a Regional Intermodal Transportation Hub in the Ontario/Nyssa/Vale area of Eastern Oregon, came from Dirk DeBoer of DeBoer Farms in Nyssa.
He noted that Peruvian onion imports have tripled in the last three years, and he said it is likely that imports will continue to increase with the expansion of the canal.
DeBoer said that with the expansion, imported onions can reach the East Coast at an average of $2,000 per load, while a load of onions traveling from the West Coast to receivers on the East Coast averages approximately $6,000. ■