After missing "critical shipping opportunities", the Washington Apple Commission is pleased U.S. West Coast ports are on the path to normalcy following a breakthrough in negotiations between workers and port operators.

Port of Seattle. Photo: Yummifruitbat, via Wikimedia Creative Commons.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) reached a tentative agreement to end the bitter nine-month dispute on Friday, but the White House-supported deal still needs to go to a vote with the workers.

Seattle and Tacoma are two of the 29 ports that were affected by the conflict.

"With our record crop this season, we have missed critical shipping opportunities for festive seasons such as Christmas and Chinese New Year," the commission's president Todd Fryhover said in a release.

"However, we still have ample supplies of high quality Washington apples in storage and will be working with our foreign market partners to make sure that consumers continue to have Washington apples available throughout the spring and summer.

"Our foreign market representatives are scheduling promotions for later in the spring to support shipments that may have been delayed due to the port slowdown."

The group highlighted it would still take weeks for the ports to resume regular shipping schedules, although ports up and down the West Coast were reportedly requesting additional labor through the weekend to help get through the backlog.

It said ships had been backed up in harbors waiting to unload and load with containers delayed by two to three weeks, resulting in millions of dollars of lost sales opportunities for the apple industry alone over the past three months.

Washington State produces approximately 60% of the apples in the United States, but is responsible for over 90% of the country's exports. In a normal season, Washington exports one-third of its production outside of the US, which in the 2013-14 season totaled more than US$780 million.

www.freshfruitportal.com