Brazil’s BRF says meat shipments to China normal despite port woes
SAO PAULO, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Brazilian food processor BRF SA has not stopped shipping meat products to China even amid congestion at some of that nation’s ports related to the new coronavirus outbreak, the company said late on Friday, answering a query from Reuters.
BRF said in a statement it is monitoring fallout from the outbreak and the flow of goods shipped to China “on a daily basis,” noting cargo movements into Chinese ports are gradually being restored.
Ships carrying refrigerated cargo containers of chicken from the United States to China were being diverted to ports in other countries, as Chinese ports ran out of space for refrigerated containers that must be plugged into electrical outlets once they are offloaded to keep frozen meat and other food products cold.
China is struggling to resume normal trade operations as fallout from the coronavirus hits container shipping lines and logistics chains, with the world’s biggest container line Maersk warning on Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak would weigh on earnings.
BRF said it has not incurred additional shipping costs to continue sending goods to China, specifically addressing a Reuters question related to a $1,000 “congestion fee” per container of refrigerated cargo that shipping companies were demanding from exporters willing to send refrigerated products immediately to the Asian country.
BRF added it “understands that cargo being shipped at this time will arrive in China with a more controlled logistics situation.”
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