By Chris Clayton
DTN Ag Policy Editor
SAVANNAH, Ga. (DTN) — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue took time after a speech at the National Farmers Union annual meeting here on Monday to better understand the volume of growth in new produce imports at the Port of Savannah.
The Port of Savannah has seen an explosion of produce imports from Central and South American countries over the past couple of years. That has translated into a greater need for USDA inspectors to work along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port.
Produce imports at Savannah have gone from basically zero two years ago to about 7,000 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers in fiscal year 2019. A temperature-controlled warehouse built several years ago has become a destination for fruits and vegetables.
The business move made sense because there were few ports in the south Atlantic servicing the southeastern mid-Atlantic population, said Griff Lynch, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.
