Perishables trade: Ways to boost South Florida’s prowess

 South Florida shines as a top trade hub for cut flowers, salmon and some tropical produce, but the area could do more to boost its prowess in other perishables such as medicine and grapes.

In medicine, for instance, South Florida needs more warehouses designed to meet strict government rules, such as storing pharmaceuticals in temperature-controlled areas separate from other goods.

Those were among the suggestions shared at WorldCity’s Trade Connections on Aug. 22, when the media company presented its third annual “Perishables Trade Numbers” report for the United States.

Opportunities in medicine, fresh produce

Speakers said medicine offers great opportunity, because it’s the No. 1 import and export in U.S. perishable trade. The country imported $46 billion and exported $23 billion in medicine in 2013, according to U.S. Commerce data analyzed by WorldCity.

Leandro Moreira, Brinks Global Services. Photos by Carlos Miller

That explains why airline cargo veteran Leandro Moreira just changed jobs. He’s joined Brinks Global Services, the logistics company known for armored cars carrying cash, to develop a life-sciences division that aims to boost delivery of medicines and related items worldwide.

Moreira said he’s especially keen on supplying temperature-controlled medicines to emerging markets in Latin America and other regions, where middle-class demand is soaring.

Miami can cash in. With the most extensive U.S. air service to Latin America plus strong air links to Europe and elsewhere, Miami could become a hub for shipping medicines from Europe and India to Latin America , “if we make the necessary investments in facilities and technology,” panelist Moreira said.

Also offering opportunity for South Florida: a program that now allows direct imports of grapes and blueberries from Peru and Uruguay into PortMiami and Port Everglades, ending the need to ship those fruits to such northern U.S. ports such as Philadelphia for processing there first.

U.S. authorities for decades had required certain imported fruits enter northern ports because of concerns that fruit flies and other pests could spread to Florida farms and hurt production. But new technologies allow for cooling the fruits to near freezing temperatures in transit, tackling that concern.

The big question now is whether U.S. authorities will expand the program to additional imports. That would help South Florida seaports and cut costs and transit times for fresh fruits and vegetables to reach South Florida consumers, said audience member Eric Olaffson, an executive with PortMiami.

Supplying the Caribbean and Central America

Opportunities also abound for South Florida to supply the smaller markets of the Caribbean and Central America, where production is limited and prices at local retailers tend to be high.

Just ask Bruce Siddens, general manager in Miami/Doral for Sam’s Club, the wholesale warehouse chain. His Doral operation now employs 42 people just for exports, working mainly with the Caribbean Basin region. It does not supply Mexico, where Sam’s and parent company WalMart have stores. 

Bruce Siddens, general manager in Miami/Doral for Sam’s Club, the wholesale warehouse chain

“Next year, we expect a 70 percent increase in our sales and staff for export” from Doral, panelist Siddens said. That means shipping out everything from canned goods to frozen meats. The challenge is to find ways to ship fresh produce that can reach the nations in good condition at a low price, he said.

Shipping Florida lobster to Asia?

Then, there’s the chance to expand specialty cargo, such as shipping live Florida lobsters to Asia.

That’s one complicated and expensive business that keeps panelist Umberto Cella busy. Cella is chief operations officer in Miami for Savino del Bene USA, a unit of an Italian freight forwarding company. He’s also the third-generation in his family to be involved with freight forwarding.

“It’s a 24-hour job,” said Cella of shipments of Florida’s spiny lobsters to China. Paperwork and airline reservations are handled during the day. And pick up, inspections, packing and flights are done at night.

“These lobsters don’t like each other,” so you have to bind them together to make sure that they don’t lash out and kill one another on the trip, said Cella.

Umberto Cella, chief operations officer in Miami for Savino del Bene USA

Joked WorldCity President Ken Roberts: “Only in Miami will you have an Italian freight forwarding company shipping lobster to China. That’s how we do it here.”

Challenges to growth in perishables trade

Of course, there are hurdles to expansion of perishables trade in South Florida, too.

One big concern: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking to boost certain processing fees, a move the industry opposes, said audience member Barbara Pimentel, executive vice president of the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association.

Increases in U.S. government fees and paperwork already have prompted some companies to stop shipping goods through the United States to other nations, especially since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

“If they can find a solution to circumvent the United States, they will,” said Moreira. That’s especially true for certain produce with low profit margins, in which “any cent will affect their final price.”

It’s tough to know how much freight moves through South Florida en route to other places anyway.

The U.S. Commerce Department keeps its trade numbers based on where goods enters and exit U.S. Customs. That means cellphones made in Asia shipped from Miami to Brazil count as Miami export, Roberts said.

Barbara Pimentel, executive vice president of the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association.

The Miami International Airport last year handled about 2.2 million tons of cargo that passed through Customs locally, but it likely handled 40 percent more that came in-transit. That number is not captured in Commerce data, lamented audience member Ernesto Rodriguez, chief of aviation marketing for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

Some of today’s in-transit business at MIA likely includes pharmaceuticals flown by Qatar Airways through Miami into Latin America, said Rodriguez.

Trade Connections is one of six event series organized by WorldCity to bring together executives in the greater Miami area on international business topics. The Trade series is sponsored by PortMiami, Miami-Dade Aviation, American Airlines Cargo and bank HSBC.

The next Trade Connections is set for Oct. 17 to focus on technology exports.

For more trade data, check our website at www.ustradenumbers.com. You can find information by Customs area, port, commodity and other searches. The data updates regularly.