Exporters hampered by container shortage as orders pour in

By THE NATION

 

 

The global Covid-19 situation has driven up demand for canned food and tuna, but deliveries by Thai exporters are affected by a shortage of containers, industry experts said.

 

 

Chanin Chalisaraphong, president of Thai Tuna Industry Association said that Thai export of tuna in 2020 is expected to net Bt80 billion, increasing from Bt77 billion in 2019.

 

“This year we estimate that tuna exports will expand by at least 5 per cent, as orders are now pouring in for delivery within the first quarter of 2021,” he said. “The biggest problem exporters are facing right now is inadequate supply of containers, as over a thousand containers are still stuck in the United States and Europe due to Covid-19 restrictions. Containers that came back on time are being sent to China.

 

“The association is urging the ministries of Commerce and Transport to coordinate with foreign authorities to send back our containers as soon as possible,” he added.

 

Meanwhile, Korakot Kittiphol, deputy director of foreign markets at Thai Hua Rubber Pcl, has added that since December the company has received increasing orders from China who require rubber for manufacturing tyres and rubber gloves.

 

“We must deliver the rubber within the next few months but currently we do not have enough containers,” he said. “Furthermore, the freight fee has increased to the highest in 15 years, from last year’s rate of $20-$50 per 20-foot container to $600-$800 per container.”

 

Boonchai Srichaiyongpanich, president of the Thai Tapioca Trade Association, has said that China is currently ordering tapioca chips at 300,000 tonnes per month, compared to 80,000-90,000 tonnes per month during the same period in 2020. “China switched to using tapioca chip as the main ingredient in alcohol manufacturing after local corn price rose sharply,” he said. “We expect that total export of tapioca this year will reach 4-5 million tonnes, increasing from last year’s total of only 3 million tonnes.”

 

Not all exports enjoy higher orders, however. The honorary president of Thai Rice Exporters Association, Chukiat Opaswong, has said the orders for delivery in first quarter of 2021 are still at the same level as last year. “This is due to the strengthening of the baht that has made Thai rice more expensive than competitors,” he said. “We estimate that total rice exports this year will be 6.5 million tonnes, increasing from last year’s total of 5.8 million tonnes, which was the lowest in the past 20 years.”

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30401329?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2021-01-17

 

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Must be because the government used all the containers they could get to block the dek dek protesters... ????

I think the government has some spare "wall"-containers deposited around Bangkok, they could probably be repainted and used...????

A big problem in Los Angeles too. The ships are stacked out in L.A. and L.B. harbor all the way down to Huntington Beach. That's one huge traffic jam. I posted this on my FB page yesterday. I understand how this happens. I worked as a crane operator down there for 21 years and retired 10 years ago and came here. My buddies telling me there is work around the clock. Will get better next month with Chinese New Year when the yearly slump is.

Is tuna not included in the ''canned food'?   LOL

Nip over to half a dozen African countries and they will find hundreds of families living in them !

7 hours ago, kotsak said:

Must be because the government used all the containers they could get to block the dek dek protesters... ????

I bet they use them as bank Vaults for the big stash THB.

This might sound simple but can't they just purchase more containers?

 

I know they're not cheap so I suspect it's a 'don't want to spend the money' kind of situation.

1 hour ago, nervona81732 said:

I posted this on my FB page yesterday.

 

I bet that got a few likes.

1 hour ago, trainman34014 said:

Nip over to half a dozen African countries and they will find hundreds of families living in them !

Your a vile human being

10 hours ago, rooster59 said:

exporters are affected by a shortage of containers,

  Maybe their use is being exploited elsewhere throughout the World:-

 

Maybe there wouldn't be a shortage if they stopped building hotels out of them here.  ????

 

https://www.hivetelphuket.com/

 

5 hours ago, digger70 said:

I bet they use them as bank Vaults for the big stash THB.

It simply is the slow turnaround of containers, transporters stash them in the hope for higher rental or buying prices.

Also, there is a shortage of shipping.

 

8 hours ago, hansnl said:

It simply is the slow turnaround of containers, transporters stash them in the hope for higher rental or buying prices.

Also, there is a shortage of shipping.

 

It's the shortage of shipping due to covid-19 & economic downturns.  Major importing countries like the US are packed in all 50 States with empty containers as it (usually) isn't economical to ship empties back to Asia.