The president of the National Agricultural Society, Antonio Walker, said that the Maersk Saltoro was transporting 1,353 containers of cherries harvested in the fields of the regions of Los Rios, Los Lagos, and Aysén. The fruit was scheduled to arrive in China on January 17 so it could be sold before the Chinese New Year (celebrated yesterday, January 29). Now, it'll only be eligible for the "late market".
The Maersk-chartered container ship is reportedly moving at a speed of just over one knot, so it appears that the main engine failure that slowed her voyage to Asia has not yet been resolved. However, Walker says it could arrive at the Port of Nansha on February 9.
"It's been a difficult season for cherries. To top it all off, the Saltoro ship, which has 1,353 containers and was supposed to arrive in Nansha on January 17 had a mechanical failure, so it still hasn't yet arrived in China. I've been told it could arrive on February 9," he said.
"It's an important ship. It was carrying an important volume. The Regina and Cordia cherry varieties are important for China. We'll see what happens. We have to carefully assess the fruit's quality when it arrives at its destination. Express ships take 23 to 25 days to reach China, but this ship is already almost 20 days late, so we have to see how it affects the late market in China," he added.
"This ship was supposed to arrive before the Chinese New Year, but it will arrive after when the market is more depressed. This is bad news, this is not good and it affects the fruit that is harvested in the south of Chile because the shipment has fruit harvested in Los Rios, Los Lagos, and Chile Chico (Aysén). However, the most important thing is verifying that the condition and quality of the fruit on arrival are suitable for sale in the markets. If not, exporters will have to collect the insurance, as no one, today, ships products without having insurance," he stated.
The Maersk Saltoro was one of the 15 ships served at the San Antonio International Terminal as part of the cherry export season and departed the Port of San Antonio on December 27.
So far, there are no official estimates on the number of tons affected, the economic valuation of the possible product losses, or the non-compliances derived from the non-arrival of the cargoes on time at their destination.
Source: portalportuario.cl