Produce costs pressured by freight
- Freight and fuel cost increases are squeezing global vegetable import economics. - Container rates and fuel surcharges are rising across key growing regions. - For resorts, that means imported perishables may become both more expensive and more volatile, favoring local sourcing or buffer strategies (freshplaza.com).
Vegetable importers are paying more to move produce, as freight rates, fuel surcharges and delivery delays hit refrigerated supply chains. (freshplaza.com) FreshPlaza reported this week that container rates from South America have climbed to $8,000-$9,000 from $5,000-$6,000 per container, while shipments from Egypt to U.S. markets are topping $11,000. One importer said reefer containers are “stuck in Egypt,” adding to equipment shortages. (freshplaza.com) The pressure is not limited to ocean freight. Importers told FreshPlaza that bunker fuel adds about $0.05 per pound on South America-to-North America moves, and one Mexico shipment to the U.S. West Coast was delayed by more than a month. (freshplaza.com) Benchmark shipping data show the wider market has been unstable since late February. Drewry said on April 16 that its World Container Index had just ended a six-week rally tied to higher bunker fuel prices after conflict in the Middle East, even after the index slipped 3% to $2,246 per 40-foot container. (drewry.co.uk) Drewry also said carriers are planning new charges from May 1, including peak-season surcharges of about $2,000 per 40-foot container on some routes, while ZIM announced a new bunker factor of $850 per container. Those add-ons matter for produce because refrigerated cargo already carries tighter timing and equipment constraints than dry freight. (drewry.co.uk) The same squeeze is showing up inland. DAT’s national reefer spot rate, which includes fuel surcharges, rose from $2.81 per mile in January to $3.18 in April, while the contract rate reached $3.24 per mile in April. (dat.com) Food trade researchers have been warning that shipping shocks feed through to import costs. A December 2025 Food and Agriculture Organization brief said container freight hikes have the strongest short-term effect on the food import bill, and estimated that a 10% increase in shipping costs raises that bill by more than 1%. (fao.org) That risk is larger for perishables because importers often sell on delivered contracts before the cargo arrives. FreshPlaza quoted one vegetable trader saying margin risk is “both inbound and outbound” when freight, packaging and fuel costs change between the sale and the shipment date. (freshplaza.com) Carriers are also layering on emergency fuel surcharges for refrigerated cargo. MSC said in March that new emergency fuel surcharges on some lanes would run as high as $300 per twenty-foot equivalent unit for reefer containers, on top of base freight. (container-news.com) For buyers of imported vegetables, the immediate problem is not just higher prices but less certainty on when product lands and what it costs by arrival. In produce, a one-month delay or a few extra cents per pound can wipe out the margin before the carton reaches the shelf. (freshplaza.com)
