THE fruit and vegetable trade with Taiwan is being crippled by new quarantine measures, ports closures, ship delays and suspended air cargo flights, leaving US agri-trade exporters scrambling to find available cargo space amid the coronavirus outbreak.
While Taiwan has not announced any new quarantine restrictions for sea-going vessels, air freight for incoming horticultural products have faced delays, especially US fruit and vegetable exports to Taiwan and the rest of the world.
The authorities in Taiwan are consequently taking measures to curb further trade disruption, reported Freshplaza, Netherlands.
Australia and Vietnam have both announced that 14-day quarantine regulations will apply to all ships departing from China, which will delay ships in transit through these major hubs.
Practically all major carriers, including Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd, Japan's ONE and CMA CGM, have announced additional transhipment or delays.
Taiwan's Evergreen and Yang Ming have also sent unofficial notifications of additional ship delays.
Air cargo is also being disrupted. On February 3, British Airways IAG Cargo cancelled all services to and from China for the remainder of the month, while DHL has reported 'serious disruptions of inbound and outbound air freight shipments, trucking and rail freight services.'
In addition, UPS has an agreement in place with its pilot association that means flying to China will be voluntary during the ongoing virus outbreak. Yet, FedEx said international flights have not been affected.
WORLD SHIPPING
While Taiwan has not announced any new quarantine restrictions for sea-going vessels, air freight for incoming horticultural products have faced delays, especially US fruit and vegetable exports to Taiwan and the rest of the world.
The authorities in Taiwan are consequently taking measures to curb further trade disruption, reported Freshplaza, Netherlands.
Australia and Vietnam have both announced that 14-day quarantine regulations will apply to all ships departing from China, which will delay ships in transit through these major hubs.
Practically all major carriers, including Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd, Japan's ONE and CMA CGM, have announced additional transhipment or delays.
Taiwan's Evergreen and Yang Ming have also sent unofficial notifications of additional ship delays.
Air cargo is also being disrupted. On February 3, British Airways IAG Cargo cancelled all services to and from China for the remainder of the month, while DHL has reported 'serious disruptions of inbound and outbound air freight shipments, trucking and rail freight services.'
In addition, UPS has an agreement in place with its pilot association that means flying to China will be voluntary during the ongoing virus outbreak. Yet, FedEx said international flights have not been affected.
WORLD SHIPPING