Bans by the Chinese government on poultry and logs shipped from Virginia have proved ongoing challenges for the state’s agriculture, forestry and shipping sectors.
“Quagmire” was how J.J. Keever, Virginia Port Authority senior deputy executive director for external affairs, described the process of getting the bans lifted. Keever spoke Nov. 29 to about 700 Virginia farmers and other agriculture stakeholders at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation 2011 Annual Convention in Norfolk.
Virginia exports about 15 percent of its chickens and about 10 percent of its turkeys, Keever noted, and generally speaking, “we’re moving the Virginia (agricultural) products through the global marketplace.”
China, however, has banned imports of poultry from Virginia since an outbreak of avian influenza in the Shenandoah Valley in 2007.
While U.S. agribusiness and shipping officials have worked with Congress for years to get the ban lifted, “we have not made any significant progress,” Keever said.
China also has banned imports of logs from Virginia and South Carolina since April, after insects were found in some shipments.
Keever said Chinese officials accepted an invitation earlier this year to visit Virginia and discuss a solution, but that visit has since been rescheduled for March 2012. He estimated that the ban is stopping export of 4,000 to 5,000 shipping containers a month from Virginia during the current logging season.
“Obviously progress has been slow to date,” he said, but in the case of both bans, “there are many people across the country trying to find one fix” that will get goods moving to China again.
Like the state’s agriculture and forestry industries, Virginia’s container shipping sector is a significant economic driver for the commonwealth, Keever said. It is responsible for 345,000 jobs and $41 billion in business revenue. Globally, container shipping increased 11 percent in 2010, and it is forecast to increase 300 percent by 2040. “So this is a good opportunity for the Port of Virginia,” he said.
The port is located only 18 miles from the open ocean, on one of the world’s largest natural harbors. Keever said it is well-suited to accommodate the larger ships that will benefit from the current $5.25 billion modernization of the Panama Canal.
Keever encouraged Virginia’s farmers to pursue new opportunities to export their commodities, “and we do appreciate those that we move through the port.”
The Port of Virginia is the nation’s seventh-largest and the East Coast’s third-largest, behind those of New York and New Jersey and Savannah, and ahead of ports in Charleston and Jacksonville.
Virginia is ranked ninth nationwide for agricultural exports, which totaled $2.24 billion in 2010 and included soybeans, grains, pork, poultry, tobacco, wood products, fuels and oils, cotton, seafood, fresh vegetables and animal hides.
With more than 150,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to protecting Virginia’s farms and ensuring a safe, fresh and locally grown food supply