Exporting took a pretty hard hit last year and some of the smaller exporters really struggled to keep their heads above water. It was tough to and it looks like getting goods offshore will continue to be a struggle as they face rising shipping costs and dropping capacity, with the situation not likely to improve well into 2022.
A look at the latest figures shows the number of container ships visiting New Zealand ports has decreased dramatically, with the ports increasingly unable to accommodate the newer and larger ships operating. The cost of shipping is also sky-high on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused a number of delays, and subsequent backlogs, at key ports across the globe while also pushing up demand for goods.
While some larger New Zealand exporters have supply chain agreements in place with shipping lines to ensure their goods make it overseas, it’s the smaller exporters that are now struggling the most. For those trying to send products like fresh produce or meat overseas, it’s a real struggle, and we’ve seen an increasing number of exporters forced to send their products frozen, and accept a lower price.
This has the knock-on effect of putting pressure on the cool-store and refrigerated container capacity, with meat and other horticultural produce now being stored for lengthy periods before being shipped. It seems Europe is particularly pricey to ship to at the moment, with several shipping lines recently advising they will be doubling the cost of sending containers there. Many smaller exporters will unfortunately now be familiar with the experience of having their goods bumped off a sailing, or having a sailing cancelled completely, which in the shipping industry is known as a “blank sailing”.
