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Specialty Crop Trade Council Annual Meeting
By Erika Tarr This past February the Specialty Crop Trade Council (SCTC) held its 84th annual conference in Monterey, California. Held in conjunction with the ACFSQ annual meeting, more than 200 dried fruit and tree nut industry’s growers, processors, marketers and shippers attended. The meeting began with a quick recap on the current container shipments. There was a significant growth from 2007 with 6,705 to 10,773 total containers shipped in 2008. This was a 38% increase in the number of containers shipped. SCTC membership also saw a significant growth from 2007 to 2008, starting with 99 members and growing to 112 members in June of 2008. As of February 2009, membership grew to 123. SCTC renegotiated 10 of the 13 contracts with ocean freight carriers which had contracts expiring on April 30, 2009. A negotiating group met on February 25 to review the current proposals. Renegotiations and the 2009-1010 contracts have been approved and signed by all parties involved. Most of the contract rates are effective as of May 1, 2009 however, some of the new rates became effective once the new contract was signed and filed with the FMC. A transportation workshop was held on February 28, which began with formal presentations and concluded with an open question and answer period. Selected panelists included Peter Friedmann, executive director for Agriculture Transportation Coalition; Ernie Kuo, vice president of sales and marketing for Pacific International Lines (USA) Inc.; Paul Snell, vice president for OceanExpress, Jim Wilson, assistant sales manager import/export team for Yang Ming (America) Corp.; and Roland Kerby, assistant vice president marketing and sales West Coast for Zim American Integrated Shipping Services Co., Inc. These speakers brought years of experience and knowledge to the workshop covering topics such as Asia, Middle East and India Transportation and Impact to Global Container Shipping; Latin America Transportation; and Mediterranean Transportation. For more information about attending the 85th annual SCTC meeting in 2010, visit the website at http://www.cdfea.org/ |
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
Comments, questions or story ideas? Please contact newsletter editor Richard Cherrix at 916.561.5900 ext. 107 or richc@agfoodsafety.org IN THIS ISSUE 2009 Safe and Efficient Inspection Guidelines Time to Reevaluate Food Safety Programs The Dried Fruit Moisture Tester New Allergy Webinar to Assist with Food Safety Issues Member Spotlight: Riverwest Processing, Inc. Nestled between the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast Ranges in California's fertile Sacramento River Valley, lies more than a half-million acres of the world's finest, and most productive almond orchards. Riverwest Processing, Inc., located in Glenn, California, was founded in 2004 by the Koehnen and Paiva families. Their mission was simple: to provide a first-class processing destination for their growers, and a complete supply solution for customers seeking high-quality, natural California-grown almonds. read more Carrier of the Year Award The Specialty Crop Trade Council would like to announce that APL has been awarded the “Carrier of the Year” award for 2008. The “Carrier of the Year” award is based on the total number of containers shipped by the carrier in the calendar year. AgTC: “Clean Truck” Program The Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) recently wrote to the Port of Seattle Commission summarizing its support for the Port’s approach to effort to reduce emissions and improve air quality. A full copy of AgTC’s comments can be read by clicking here. DFA Terms and Conditions Clarification In mid February, members received a letter regarding the misuse of the phrase “DFA Terms and Conditions.” We would like to remind you that in actuality, the terms and conditions referenced are actually a contract developed by the California Dried Fruit Export Association (CDFEA), which is now referred to as the Specialty Crop Trade Council (SCTC.) For more information regarding these terms and conditions, and the changes in some of the trade and contract requirements in particular industry segments, please read the full letter to our industry members, and the Export Contract Terms & Conditions at http://www.agfoodsafety.org/news-events-links.php |
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