That’s a large enough number as it is, but it is only a fraction of the toll the Golden State’s port mess has taken on its agricultural base overall. A just-released study finds UC Davis agricultural economists estimating the value of California’s containerized agricultural exports fell an estimated $2.1 billion — about 17% — from May to September 2021.
The financial disruptions suffered by California farmers exceed the industry’s losses from the 2018 U.S.-China trade war.
“The lost farm exports mirror the fact that California ports are among the least efficient in the world,” the study says, adding, “As a result, some importers now view California as an unreliable supplier of agricultural products due to inferior port structure.”
Before Covid, California ports typically handled around 40% of containerized imports. But as import growth has soared, California ports have become overwhelmed and U.S. ports outside California handled 23% more containers.
The study is another example of what damage neglecting U.S. infrastructure over the past quarter-century has done to the U.S. economy as a whole.