Suez Canal blockage adds more stain to supply chain

The large Ever give container ship is ‘ partly refloating , ’ but still stuck sideways in the Suez Canal , a crucial watercourse , creating a massive dealings jam . Also for the floriculture industry , it is has consequences as many products and material are being imported out of Asia . It is get hold and this all is on top of the transportation system price that are already sky high since mid - December , due to the lack of container . DelaysVan Nifterik Holland , for example is waiting for 18 container with bamboo stick and other product for pot and vegetable industrial plant . " We still have stock , but if it will to take weeks , it becomes a very big logistical puzzler " , Van Nifterik ’s logistics director Henk Evers tells Dutch newspaperRD .

Problem not immediately solved when ship localize freeBut when the ship will be set free , the trouble is n’t expected to be figure out immediately . There is now flow of containers , which mean that fellowship will have difficulties with ordering the containers . In accession , hustle is expected for when thing do get down moving again , and ports will ' on the spur of the moment ' be glut .

Transportation is a challenge since COVID-19However , Department of Transportation is a job for quite a while now , actually since the starting line of COVID-19 . As we speak , there are also several ships waiting in the North Sea , says Rein Buitenhuis ofBunnik Creations , a Dutch company that imports ceramics from Asia , among other things , and has a number of containers waiting behind the Ever Given ship . " That is why a delay of a week has become received lately . In many European ports , there are more ships than places to adulterate and unload . This delay will now be made up for somewhat , but that is of course temporary . "

Increased transportation costsIn turn , the challenge in transportation is reflected in the prices . " The price of transportation exploded " , says Christian Jacobsen ofEuroTrend , a Danish fellowship that is specialize in designing and combining ceramic with mini indoor plants . " Transportation costs are about 4 to 5 times higher than usual , lead in our product increase in price as well . "

Also for them , the current situation with the ship that is stick in the Suez Canal is causing delays , but they still have enough farm animal . Mother ’s Day , for case is a very important holiday for them and they always ship their product together with their Valentine ’s Day shipment . According to Jacobsen , the main challenge is still the transportation damage and for the second quarter , he does not bear the price to lessen anytime presently . " It is really a trafficker market - in favour of the shipping companies - nowadays and everyone importing from China is handle with it . "

Impact on food supplying chainFor the horticultural industry , the issue also shows why local food production is that authoritative . " Often , consumer do n’t guess about where the food in their supermarkets comes from - and how far it has get along to get to our shelf . We ’re used to being able to get yr - one shot supplies of the fruit and vegetables we jazz fly in from other area , disregarding of what ’s in time of year locally . But sometimes we get a monitor of how fragile the ecosystem we ’re working in really is ; how reliant we are on global supplying concatenation , " says Sky Kurtz with Pure Harvest Smart Farms . The company has recently secure 60 million in increment funding to expound in local greenhouse production in the UAE .

" Other examples of the parlous nature of supply chain let in the impact the pandemic had on zephyr change of location in 2020 , the impact of warfare on regional airspaces , and innate disasters like the 2010 volcanic bam of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland which get massive commotion to air travelling . These events underline the importance of food and supply chain security and independency , " he add .

" For a neighborhood like the GCC where 80 % of all food is imported , it should prompt us to think about reducing our trust on other area for our food and imagination . In the past tense , the clime meant that grow solid food here was not possible , but with modern , climate - control greenhouses that ’s no longer the case . Smart farms run by ship’s company like Pure Harvest Smart Farms can apply control - surround Department of Agriculture ( CEA ) to grow refreshful , in high spirits - tone yield and vegetables yr - round . "