Posts By: Ken Gilliland

Show me the Money! Have a Disciplined and Consistent Approach with Your Receivables, and Western Growers can be a Resource

As every company knows (or should know), establishing a weekly/daily routine to review your accounts receivables, defines best in class sales operations. Those companies that have a coordinated approach from both sales and accounting staff to encourage adherence to payments terms, routinely have a reduced bad debt experience and increased cash flow. Hoping that your ...

Survey Request on Export Shipments to Canada

With the enactment of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, a new provision that requires labeling consumer prepackaged fresh fruits and vegetables with a lot number will be required. The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) has been in discussion with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regarding the potential impacts to business, including U.S. exporters, ...

Embrace the Changing Season with Western Growers Trade Practices and Commodity Services Department

As we celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow and begin to phase out 2018 and welcome the new year, there will be some changes also taking place here in the Western Growers Trade Practices and Commodity Services department. With the retirement of Tom Oliveri earlier this year, the TommyO blog was renamed Produce Insights, and throughout this year ...

Federal Mediator to Assist with Port Labor Negotiations

At the behest of both parties, a federal mediator has been brought in to assist with brokering a deal between ILWU dockworkers and the employer Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) counterparts.  Ongoing contract disputes between the sides have resulted in severe bottlenecks for both importers and exporters in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.  ...

USDOT Hours of Service Changes for 2015 Could Impact Timeliness of Deliveries

In December, Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation that kept the government operating into the new year.  The $1.1 trillion omnibus funding bill also contained changes to the U.S Department of Transportation’s Hours of Service (HOS) rules for commercial drivers that went into effect on July 1, 2013.  HOS rules dictate operational and safety ...

U.S. Opens Roads to Mexican Trucks

Following the conclusion of a three-year pilot program designed to evaluate the safety of Mexican trucks on U.S. highways, the United States Department of Transportation  (USDOT) has decided to open its roads to that country’s freight carriers.  The decision by USDOT ends  a controversy that has raged for more than a decade since the passage ...

China Closes Market for Citrus-to-Citrus Originating in Tulare County

In 2013, China closed the market for California citrus due to phytophthora syringae (brown rot).  The market reopened, however, in July 2014 after a work plan was developed following negotiations between the U.S. and China.  Unfortunately, effective February 17, 2015, China's quarantine agency (AQSIQ) has suspended shipments of all citrus from Tulare County, due to ...

CDFA Issues New Policy on HLB Infected Citrus

On February 11, 2015, the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services office issued an advisory to all county agriculture commissioners (CACs) for Huanglongbing (HLB) infected citrus.  Pest Exclusionary Advisory No. 07-2015 notifies the CACs that commercially produced citrus fruit will no longer be tested for HLB by CDFA’s…

West Coast Port Slowdown Over; Impact on Trucking Capacity and Rates Anticipated

The West Coast port slowdown is all but over after a tentative deal was struck late last week between the ILWU and PMA; however, fresh produce exporters and domestic shippers may not be out of the woods yet. A massive port backlog is estimated to take as much as 12 weeks or longer to clear.  ...

Shipping Rates and Availability Affected by Port Slowdown

As expected, ports up and down the West Coast remain congested, and the transportation consequences of the work slowdown are starting to appear. Rates began climbing the week the labor agreement was reached and while there have been no drastic pricing spikes thus far, we are seeing a noticeable increase in demand for equipment as more and more ...

U.S. Challenges Indonesia’s Import Licensing Regime for Agricultural Products in the WTO

On March 18, 2015, the United States and New Zealand brought a case against Indonesia’s import licensing regime for agricultural products challenging the measures as quantitative restrictions prohibited under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the Agreement on Agriculture.  The U.S. first requested World Trade Organization consultations over the regime in January 2013,…

Canada Border Services Agency: eManifest Requirements Now Mandatory

According to a recent release from the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, the government of Canada has issued the final step for eManifest requirements for highway carriers, rail carriers, and freight forwarders, effective May 6, 2015. Details on the eManifest requirements can be found at the Canada Border Services Agency: CBSA website A non-penalty transition period ...

TRADE OPPORTUNITIES: Elimination of Tariffs Should Enhance Export Shipments

As the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations near their conclusion, producers and exporters of a host of fruits, vegetables and nuts can start eyeing some of those markets—most notably Japan—with renewed vigor. The countries engaged in the TPP negotiations represent nearly 40 percent of global GDP and are the destination for 44 percent of U.S. exports.  ...

What Constitutes Acceptance of Produce by a Buyer Under Contract Terms

The receiver offloads the commodity and releases the trucker is deemed to have accepted the load. The receiver diverts the load (while in-transit) to a destination other than that disclosed and negotiated for in the contract is deemed to have accepted the load Multiple customers (drops): A receiver has multiple customers (drops), the first produce ...

Shippers Need to Check Those Shipping Documents for Correct Disclosure Language

A question we frequently receive from members is whether a carrier can collect freight charges from the shipper when the shipment is freight collect.  The answer is it all depends on what you have printed and disclosed on your bill of lading. Unless otherwise stated on the bill of lading there is a presumption that ...