PHILADELPHIA — There are many reasons the ports of the Delaware River succeeded in serving international produce exporters targeting the United States.

Along the wide, historic river, these ports begin in Delaware, with the productive and efficient port of Wilmington. Nearby Philadelphia features a variety of seaports that serve the produce trade. Across the river facing Philadelphia and its modern container-oriented Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, is the sprawling and highly successful Gloucester Marine Terminal, operated by the Holt family in Gloucester City, NJ. The Holts manage Packer Avenue and are working with the South Jersey Port Corp. to open in 2016 a new seaport several miles to the south in Paulsboro, NJ. Depending on market demands, this food terminal may also serve the produce industry.

In basic numbers, supplied by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, over $5 billion in food products were imported to Delaware River marine terminals in 2013. Compared to other U.S. seaports, the Delaware River is tops in volume of Chilean fruit, bananas, cocoa beans, Australian meat and New Zealand dairy. PRPA figures show that $2.2 billion in fruit imports were received on the Delaware in 2012.

Many steamship lines are increasing calls on the river because of the efficient operations.

In Colonial days, Philadelphia’s Dock Street received barges of produce moved upstream from southern New Jersey farmers. At the time, Philadelphia’s produce market was established on Dock Street and stayed there until a move in 1959.

It was the explosion of Chilean fruit exports in the mid-1970s that led this region into its current leadership status.

Sophisticated dockside, and independent, nearby, off-site refrigerated cold storages blossomed and have facilitated ongoing growth. With the growth came highly efficient, specialized customhouse brokers, importers, food brokers and freight forwarders. Refrigerated trucking companies are geared to serve the produce industry from the numerous major highways running in every direction past these cold facilities. Railroads are in place, should the produce industry move in that direction.

Produce distributors on the ultra-modern Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, which opened four years ago, are a local wholesale outlet for area importers.

After years of political wrangling, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania began cooperative work five years ago to deepen the Delaware’s channel to 45 feet. When the work is completed in 2017, deep-draft ships, which can pass through the refurbished Panama Canal, will call on Delaware River ports.

Philadelphia is gearing for these huge ships with a new container operation in Southport. Specific best-uses for Southport are under discussion, starting with Pennsylvania’s political leadership.

Larry Antonucci, the president of both Ship Philly First, the promotional group, and his own J&K Fresh East in Philadelphia, said the Delaware River trade “is perfectly situated to capitalize on current diversification trends and shifting dynamics in logistics. Our port is within two days of roughly 65 percent of the U.S. population with outstanding access to Interstate 95, and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes, and all the distribution options that come with that access. We can provide a viable alternative without congestion, port or productivity issues.”

West Coast port matters helping East Coast

Edward Fitzgerald, the treasurer of Ship Philly First and the senior director of import operations at OHL International, said that currently on the Delaware River, “Volume overall, across the board, is up — steel, paper and containerized volume. Maybe because of the West Coast ports’ problems, volume is up in other eastern ports too — such as Norfolk and New York — because of the slowdown on the West Coast. Shippers were looking at different ports to avoid the slowdown.”