Seafood importers are holding their breath as a long-threatened strike at ports on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts begins. Major seafood import ports that have been closed include Boston, Massachusetts, Houston, Texas, and Miami, Florida.

The United States imports up to 260,000 tons of seafood each month, most of which arrives at more than 14 ports along the coast that were closed on October 1.

Forty-five thousand longshoremen’s contracts expired at midnight on September 30 when the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the largest union of maritime workers in North America, and the United States Maritime Union (USMX), an organization representing longshoremen’s employers on the East and Gulf coasts, failed to reach an agreement on a new master contract.

Jim Gulkin, CEO of Siam Canadian, said that while all frozen seafood shipped by sea is affected, shrimp from Asia and South America will be the most affected, just in time for holiday shipments. If not addressed quickly, this could be a major problem for processors, importers, retailers and more.

India was the largest supplier of shrimp to the United States, exporting 26,817 tons worth $211.22 million in July, while Ecuador was the second largest, exporting 12,899 tons worth $92.18 million that month. In total, the United States imported 61,271 tons of shrimp worth $502.7 million in July.

The drop in value may not necessarily be an issue if the ship is properly monitoring the temperature of the container, the East Coast wholesaler said, but importers won't be able to unload their cargo -- and therefore won't be paid for it -- until ILA workers are contracted.

Many importers will look to bring seafood into the United States through other ports not affected by the strike, such as those on the West Coast, which could lead to severe congestion and make it harder to get containers.

This is the first ILA strike at ports along the East and Gulf coasts since 1977. The most recent agreement, which expires on Monday, was last negotiated in 2018.

Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer at the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), said the administration should do everything in its power to push for a quick resolution to the impasse. The strike has the potential to impact nearly every part of the seafood value chain, exacerbating food inflation at a time when Americans can’t afford it the most. It’s not just TVs and toys that are being held up at ports. It’s food, too. Seafood imports and exports. NFI has joined 177 industry associations in asking the Biden administration to intervene and help stop the strike.

As Gibbons notes, it’s not just seafood that’s being held up. Imports of many other perishable commodities are also at risk — like bananas, of which the affected ports handled 3.8 million tons last year (75 percent of the country’s supply). Then there are other important commodities, like wine, of which 70 percent is imported through closed ports.

Source: VASEP