A strike by shipping workers in Mpumalanga and the Gulf Coast threatens US dominance around the world, according to Meat Export Federation President Dan Halstrom.
Halstrom noted that while the financial impact of the strike is profound, the bigger problem is that it puts our nation’s reputation as a reliable supplier of beef and pork “at risk.”
“Our estimate is that every week of this closure, there will be an impact on the beef and pork industries at the level of at least 100 million dollars. And that is a financial impact. The even bigger impact is that our reputation as one of the best, most reliable partners in the world as a supplier of beef and pork will be put at risk because the whole world, our competitors all over the world, are watching this,” explained Halstrom, adding that “the Australians on the beef side and the Europeans on the pork side” are ready to “come in.”
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Halstrom warns that the port’s damage to the reputation of US meat exports “will be felt for a long time.”
The CEO of the US Meat Export Federation went further, revealing the worrying impact the port strike has had on the US economy.
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“I think the congestion and the impact is already happening, maybe we haven’t seen it yet. But we’re seeing it within the supply chain. I mean, the exporters are already working to restructure the product. For example, on the West Coast,” continued Halstrom.
However, Hastrom also noted that diverting products to the West Coast is “only a temporary solution,” as reports of delays begin to come in.
“The supply chain is working very well. But if you take almost half of our capacity to ship containers to other countries, the impact is real. The impact is already here,” he said.
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