COVID-19 even affects apples: Washington farm exports crimped by cargo-container shortage

In Wenatchee, tens of thousands of boxes of apples that should be on their way to the Middle East and Asia are piling up instead in warehouses.

In Ellensburg, it’s a similar story for mountains of hay bales that would otherwise be on container ships bound for Japan and South Korea.

The problem isn’t a lack of demand: Foreign buyers are eager for farm goods from Washington and other states. But thanks to the strange effects of COVID-19 on global shipping, U.S. farm exports are barely moving.

Read the full article courtesy of the Seattle Times.

Photo: Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times