PHILADELPHIA — A direct sea trade route between the port of Veracruz, Mexico, and Philadelphia is inevitable.

The timeline for this reality has been extended beyond the hopes of a year ago.

It is matter of time, according to Lawrence (Larry) Antonucci Jr., president of Ship Philly First, a non-profit, membership organization of private business owners who operate port-related companies in the Delaware Valley.

At a July 16-18, 2014, trade conference in Veracruz, a port partnership document was signed to create trade between the ports of Veracruz and Philadelphia.

Antonucci recently told The Produce News, “We are still pursuing it but have taken this as far as we can take it. The importers are motivated. Ship Philly First members are motivated, now we just need to get a boat in the water. We have gotten it to the one-yard line and have handed it off to some very interested carriers to take it into the end zone.” The steamship lines “need to do their due diligence and make sure this is a viable startup.”

Beyond his volunteer work for Ship Philly First, Antonucci runs the firm he founded, 721 Logistics LLC, and its specialty perishables division, J&K Fresh East.

Antonucci said there are basic questions surrounding the Veracruz service, such as if this would be seasonal or a profitable year-round opportunity for steamship lines and whether or not there would be enough southbound freight for backhaul.

He noted the carriers “need enough southbound freight to balance the lane and justify the service.”

He said the members of Ship Philly First “have done yeoman’s work helping to connect northbound shippers with the interested carriers. We all know there is enough northbound freight coming out of Mexico to the Northeast. But the question is, ‘Can we move enough freight to Mexico from Philadelphia?’ It’s mostly by truck and rail now, or sailing out of Newark or Baltimore. It’s a matter of a change in paradigm.”

Antonucci said that New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania, which are the three states bordering the Delaware River, “exported over $6 billion worth of goods” to Mexico in 2014, with Pennsylvania contributing more than 50 percent. “We continue to work on bringing shippers and importers to the table. When the carriers complete their due diligence and decide to make the investment, we’ll be ready.”

The new Mexican maritime trade would involve more than perishables, which would be the largest part of the business. Antonucci said that roughly 35 percent of all produce imported into the United States comes from Mexico. There are also large northbound volumes of meat proteins such as beef and poultry, as well as sugar, alcohol and chemicals.

Key southbound commodities would be automobile parts and manufacturing equipment. There is a “maquila” trade with Mexican workers assembling auto parts from the United States. These parts are returned to the U.S. for completion of autos.

“We think a direct ocean service from Mexico will happen sooner rather than later, and our membership will do whatever it takes to make it successful,” said Antonucci.