Hurricane Katrina devastates Gulfport banana facilities
Hurricane Katrina devastates Gulfport banana facilities
"I'm really concerned about some people down there. Our biggest concern right now is the people who live down there," Marta Maitles, director of communications for Dole Fresh Fruit Co. in Westlake Village, CA, told The Produce News Aug. 30.
Ms. Maitles was speaking of Gulfport, MS, where Dole maintains a large facility to receive fruit imported from Latin America. Gulfport took the devastating brunt of the force of Hurricane Katrina.
National news reports have indicated rising fatality numbers in Mississippi in the hurricanes wake.
Chiquita Brands International Inc. in Cincinnati announced Aug. 30 that its port facilities at Gulfport, MS, were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Fortunately, all 20 of our employees in Gulfport have been accounted for and we are grateful, Bob Kistinger, president and chief operating officer of Chiquita Fresh, said in a press release. However, the city of Gulfport sustained tremendous wind and water damage, and many port facilities, including ours, have been severely affected. While we are still assessing the situation, it is clear that we will need to relocate our services from Gulfport for the foreseeable future. However, we are very committed to Gulfport and are developing plans to rebuild our facilities there as soon as possible.
We are still evaluating the situation, Ms. Maitles said. The port is underwater. We know we lost structures and equipment, we just dont know the degree yet. Our plan for the immediate future is to divert the fruit to other port facilities.
She said that a northbound Dole ship was following the hurricane and was diverted to Freeport, TX. She said another Dole ship had unloaded in Gulfport just before the storm arrived. I dont believe we lost fruit inventory [from that shipload], just equipment inventory.
In the meantime, she said, We have made phone contact with some of our people [in Gulfport]. Were trying to locate them all. We are waiting for them to call out. With cell phones, the incoming calls are the most disrupted.
On Aug. 30, John Loughridge, vice president of marketing for Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. in Coral Gables, FL, said, Del Monte Fresh Produce cannot speculate on the effect that Hurricane Katrina has had to those companies that bring in bananas into Gulf ports. We estimate that about 500,000 to 600,000 boxes are brought in weekly, and there will be some interruption, particularly with the demand for bananas increasing due to the reopening of schools. At this time, we expect the market to go up as it does this time of year, but we foresee the market going up quicker due to the disruption that the hurricane has caused.
What will this do to banana prices? I have no idea at this point, Ms. Maitles said.
Juan Alarcon, chief executive officer of Turbana Corp. in Coral Gables, FL, indicated that the banana market started improving the week of Aug. 14. The disruption of the banana industry will likely raise prices even more.
On the afternoon of Aug. 30, Mr. Alarcon observed in e-mail correspondence: The situation in Gulfport seems to be difficult people suffered a lot. It looks that the port wont work for some time, at least this is what I heard. From the supply side for the second semester, we dont see major problems unless some natural disaster occurs, which nobody knows. Companies will try to give priority to Europe since they will need to use all their licenses available since nobody knows what type of system there will be applicable for 2006. Supply is one big bag; companies decide where to take their fruit according to commitments, prices and logistics and of course Europe is the priority.
In recent months, Turbana moved its Gulf Coast banana-receiving operations from Gulfport, MS, to Freeport, TX. In Freeport, We didnt have problems with the hurricane, business wise, said Mr. Alarcon.
Gulfport is one of five U.S. ports Chiquita uses to import bananas and other fresh produce. In 2004, Gulfport handled approximately one-quarter of Chiquitas banana imports to the United States with weekly shipments from Central America. In the near term, the company plans to utilize Freeport, TX, Port Everglades, FL, and possibly other ports to handle shipments that were previously scheduled to arrive in Gulfport.
Mr. Kistinger continued, While this will obviously affect our logistics and shipping operations, we believe our ports in Texas and South Florida are well positioned to maintain high service levels to our customers in a cost-effective manner. Our main objective will be to avoid any volume or service disruptions. We are in contact with our customers to work through any service schedule changes.
Chiquita maintains customary insurance coverage for physical property, including shipping containers, as well as for business interruption. The deductibles for Chiquita under these conditions would range from approximately $1 million to $2 million. The company is continuing to evaluate any additional financial impact that may result from damage due to the hurricane; however, it does not expect these costs to be material. Chiquita also announced that none of its ships were damaged by the hurricane.
Gulfport dabbled in banana imports in the 1920s, but it was not until worker strikes in New Orleans in 1964 that large shipments of bananas began to be diverted to Gulfport. After Hurricane Camilles powerful winds of over 200 mph destroyed much of the Mississippi coast in 1969, the port began reconstruction. By 1971, imports had exceeded pre-Camille numbers. By 1975, the port of Gulfport was the largest port of entry for bananas to the U.S. market. While the port has diversified and has plans for the addition of another berth by 2010, bananas remain one of the more important parts of Gulfport shipping.
Ms. Maitles was speaking of Gulfport, MS, where Dole maintains a large facility to receive fruit imported from Latin America. Gulfport took the devastating brunt of the force of Hurricane Katrina.
National news reports have indicated rising fatality numbers in Mississippi in the hurricanes wake.
Chiquita Brands International Inc. in Cincinnati announced Aug. 30 that its port facilities at Gulfport, MS, were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Fortunately, all 20 of our employees in Gulfport have been accounted for and we are grateful, Bob Kistinger, president and chief operating officer of Chiquita Fresh, said in a press release. However, the city of Gulfport sustained tremendous wind and water damage, and many port facilities, including ours, have been severely affected. While we are still assessing the situation, it is clear that we will need to relocate our services from Gulfport for the foreseeable future. However, we are very committed to Gulfport and are developing plans to rebuild our facilities there as soon as possible.
We are still evaluating the situation, Ms. Maitles said. The port is underwater. We know we lost structures and equipment, we just dont know the degree yet. Our plan for the immediate future is to divert the fruit to other port facilities.
She said that a northbound Dole ship was following the hurricane and was diverted to Freeport, TX. She said another Dole ship had unloaded in Gulfport just before the storm arrived. I dont believe we lost fruit inventory [from that shipload], just equipment inventory.
In the meantime, she said, We have made phone contact with some of our people [in Gulfport]. Were trying to locate them all. We are waiting for them to call out. With cell phones, the incoming calls are the most disrupted.
On Aug. 30, John Loughridge, vice president of marketing for Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. in Coral Gables, FL, said, Del Monte Fresh Produce cannot speculate on the effect that Hurricane Katrina has had to those companies that bring in bananas into Gulf ports. We estimate that about 500,000 to 600,000 boxes are brought in weekly, and there will be some interruption, particularly with the demand for bananas increasing due to the reopening of schools. At this time, we expect the market to go up as it does this time of year, but we foresee the market going up quicker due to the disruption that the hurricane has caused.
What will this do to banana prices? I have no idea at this point, Ms. Maitles said.
Juan Alarcon, chief executive officer of Turbana Corp. in Coral Gables, FL, indicated that the banana market started improving the week of Aug. 14. The disruption of the banana industry will likely raise prices even more.
On the afternoon of Aug. 30, Mr. Alarcon observed in e-mail correspondence: The situation in Gulfport seems to be difficult people suffered a lot. It looks that the port wont work for some time, at least this is what I heard. From the supply side for the second semester, we dont see major problems unless some natural disaster occurs, which nobody knows. Companies will try to give priority to Europe since they will need to use all their licenses available since nobody knows what type of system there will be applicable for 2006. Supply is one big bag; companies decide where to take their fruit according to commitments, prices and logistics and of course Europe is the priority.
In recent months, Turbana moved its Gulf Coast banana-receiving operations from Gulfport, MS, to Freeport, TX. In Freeport, We didnt have problems with the hurricane, business wise, said Mr. Alarcon.
Gulfport is one of five U.S. ports Chiquita uses to import bananas and other fresh produce. In 2004, Gulfport handled approximately one-quarter of Chiquitas banana imports to the United States with weekly shipments from Central America. In the near term, the company plans to utilize Freeport, TX, Port Everglades, FL, and possibly other ports to handle shipments that were previously scheduled to arrive in Gulfport.
Mr. Kistinger continued, While this will obviously affect our logistics and shipping operations, we believe our ports in Texas and South Florida are well positioned to maintain high service levels to our customers in a cost-effective manner. Our main objective will be to avoid any volume or service disruptions. We are in contact with our customers to work through any service schedule changes.
Chiquita maintains customary insurance coverage for physical property, including shipping containers, as well as for business interruption. The deductibles for Chiquita under these conditions would range from approximately $1 million to $2 million. The company is continuing to evaluate any additional financial impact that may result from damage due to the hurricane; however, it does not expect these costs to be material. Chiquita also announced that none of its ships were damaged by the hurricane.
Gulfport dabbled in banana imports in the 1920s, but it was not until worker strikes in New Orleans in 1964 that large shipments of bananas began to be diverted to Gulfport. After Hurricane Camilles powerful winds of over 200 mph destroyed much of the Mississippi coast in 1969, the port began reconstruction. By 1971, imports had exceeded pre-Camille numbers. By 1975, the port of Gulfport was the largest port of entry for bananas to the U.S. market. While the port has diversified and has plans for the addition of another berth by 2010, bananas remain one of the more important parts of Gulfport shipping.
