Port strike, bad news for farmers: 'We don't need another hit right now'

Experts and farm groups are monitoring a possible dockworkers' strike, which could begin Tuesday if the International Longshoremen's Association union fails to reach an agreement with major shipping lines, terminal operators and port authorities.

A shutdown at nearly every port from Maine to Texas could result in losses in the billions, although estimates vary.

Farmers will be affected because they will not be able to export their products, many of which are perishable. In addition to finding themselves with stock they cannot sell or store for too long, farmers will also see prices for their products drop because there will be excess inventory on the market, explained Kip Tom, former ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies, in conversation with Fox.

"With more than $1.4 billion in containerized agricultural goods passing through East and Gulf coast ports each week, a strike would create backlogs of exports, denying farmers access to a higher price in the world market," explained Daniel Munch at The American Farm Bureau Federation, agreeing that this would result in lower prices for "key commodities" such as "meat and poultry, cotton, soybeans and specialty crops and further eroding farm profitability,"

Tom also explained that this comes in addition to the downward economic spiral and the impact of the Hurricane Helene, which the expert recalled on social media, "Many [farm families] have invested everything they have to produce a crop to feed, fuel and cloth Americans safely, affordably and nutritiously. Let's think about them and all those impacted as they recover from this disaster."

"President Biden needs to step in and show leadership and assure these ports all stay open," he also wrote. "American workers from the farm gate to processors, logistics firms, dockworkers livelihoods depend on trade. Our customers worldwide depend on us!"

Late last week, some 200 agricultural organizations sent a letter to the White House asking it to address the problem. "These disruptions will have a ripple effect across the entire United States," they wrote, per Reuters, which had access to the letter.

The signatories of the letter charged that the disruptions had begun to be felt even before the strike and called for a number of measures to be taken, such as granting an emergency hours of service exemption for East and Gulf Coast trucking.