HURRICANE KATRINA UPDATE: Gulfport banana facilities out of touch
HURRICANE KATRINA UPDATE: Gulfport banana facilities out of touch
With a stroke of luck, Turbana Corp. in Coral Gables, FL, in recent months moved its Gulf Coast banana-receiving port from Gulfport, MS, to Freeport, TX.
According to national news reports, Gulfport took the worst hit from Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29. Meanwhile, in Freeport, "We didn't have problems with the hurricane, business wise," said Juan Alarcon, Turbana's chief executive officer.
On the night of Aug. 29, Mr. Alarcon wrote by e-mail, "The main problem" for the banana industry as a result of Katrina "would be logistics, basically for Dole an Chiquita" which both have large ports in Gulfport. "It seems that Chiquita diverted its vessel to Freeport and Dole is waiting until the storms clears Gulfport, which I think is risky. Who knows what will happen to the facilities? The other problem could be the fruit that both Chiquita and/or Dole had in inventory in the port. The banana market started improving last week, and this will help even more. This business is about procurement and logistics."
Early on Aug. 29 Marta Maitles, director of communications for Dole Fresh Fruit Co., said, "As of this morning, we have been unable to contact our people at the Gulfport facility, so we do not know what the situation is in Gulfport." At that time, the full force of Hurricane Katrina was battering the Gulf Coast from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana.
At Chiquita Brands International Inc. in Cincinnati, Michael Mitchell, director of corporate communications, said in the early afternoon of Aug. 29, "We are still compiling information about the impact of the storm now. I can confirm that growing areas were not affected, and ships were not sent into harm's way. At this point, it is too early for me to quantify if there will be any disruption to banana supply or pricing."
(Additional updates on the impact of Hurricane Katrina will be posted on this web site as information comes in. A full report will appear in the Sept. 5 issue of The Produce News.)
According to national news reports, Gulfport took the worst hit from Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29. Meanwhile, in Freeport, "We didn't have problems with the hurricane, business wise," said Juan Alarcon, Turbana's chief executive officer.
On the night of Aug. 29, Mr. Alarcon wrote by e-mail, "The main problem" for the banana industry as a result of Katrina "would be logistics, basically for Dole an Chiquita" which both have large ports in Gulfport. "It seems that Chiquita diverted its vessel to Freeport and Dole is waiting until the storms clears Gulfport, which I think is risky. Who knows what will happen to the facilities? The other problem could be the fruit that both Chiquita and/or Dole had in inventory in the port. The banana market started improving last week, and this will help even more. This business is about procurement and logistics."
Early on Aug. 29 Marta Maitles, director of communications for Dole Fresh Fruit Co., said, "As of this morning, we have been unable to contact our people at the Gulfport facility, so we do not know what the situation is in Gulfport." At that time, the full force of Hurricane Katrina was battering the Gulf Coast from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana.
At Chiquita Brands International Inc. in Cincinnati, Michael Mitchell, director of corporate communications, said in the early afternoon of Aug. 29, "We are still compiling information about the impact of the storm now. I can confirm that growing areas were not affected, and ships were not sent into harm's way. At this point, it is too early for me to quantify if there will be any disruption to banana supply or pricing."
(Additional updates on the impact of Hurricane Katrina will be posted on this web site as information comes in. A full report will appear in the Sept. 5 issue of The Produce News.)