The Perishable Specialist experienced good volumes of blueberries and cherries
The Perishable Specialist experienced good volumes of blueberries and cherries
“We have experienced good volumes of blueberries from Chile, as well as cherries,” said Ana Ramos, co-owner with her husband, Frank, of the Perishable Specialist Inc., headquartered in Miami. “We are seeing good volumes by ocean and a steady stream by air of Chilean blueberries.”
She added that blueberries would be in full swing at the turn of the New Year.
The husband-and-wife team manages the major responsibilities of clearing imported produce, ensuring proper cold storage protocol and working with logistics operations for the customs brokerage firm. It is licensed as a customs broker by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, a division of the Department of Homeland Security specializing in perishables.
“Although our headquarters are in Doral, a section of Miami, we are a remote location filer,” Ramos pointed out. “We are able to clear cargo at all ports of the United States. And although our expertise is at Miami International Airport, where we clear perishable air arrivals from all over the world, we also clear containerized ocean cargo at the port of Miami and port Everglades, as well as in Philadelphia, Newark, Wilmington, Houston, Long Beach and other ports of entry.”
The Perishable Specialist has had nearly a decade of major growth and evolvement. Becoming approved as a Remote Location Filer in 2007 by Customs & Border Protection is one of the company’s key accomplishments. In 2004, it was proudly certified as a member of C-TPAT, and was validated by Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, commonly referred to as C-TPAT, in 2006.
“It’s been business as usual since the start of the Chilean season,” Ramos noted. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture continues to allow fumigation at destination for blueberries from regions VI, VII AND VIII in Chile.”