Posts Tagged “Crowley Maritime Corp.”
Crowley Maritime Corp. has started clearing certain produce requiring cold-treatment from more South American countries at the Port of Charleston, S.C.
This has become possible due to expansion of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) cold treatment pilot program.
“We’ve worked diligently with the Florida Perishable Trade Coalition to make the cold-treatment program a reality,” Nelly Yunta, vice president, Customized Brokers, a subsidiary of Crowley, said in a press release. “Each time the program expands to another port of entry or an additional commodity, it’s a huge win for consumers looking to have fresh produce on their tables throughout the year.”
As early as this spring, Crowley will be able to accept those items such as: Peruvian citrus, blueberries, grapes; Uruguay blueberries, grapes; Argentinean blueberries, apples and pears.
The cold treatment process eliminates harsh chemical fumigation, but still ensures that foreign insect and larvae are eradicated from the cargo, according to the release. The program has previously been rolled out in both Savannah, GA and South Florida.
As with previous implementations, containers that do not pass cold treatment will be prohibited from entering the port without being offloaded from vessels. If containers do fail, they will be allowed transit by sea to a Northeastern port for retreatment, or will be re-exported to the country of origin.
This expansion not only serves to filter the import process, but also helps to lower transportation costs, prolong shelf-life by shortening the shipping distance, and help lower grocery prices for those items for southern-based consumers.