(Dan Tri) – Global food trade is stagnating, food is piling up in many places as shipping companies prioritize transporting empty containers to China for higher profits.
The world is in a container `fever`, causing goods to be congested in many places.
The global container competition means that Thailand cannot export rice to other places or India cannot export sugar.
India, the world’s second largest sugar producer, exported only 70,000 tons of sugar in January, less than one-fifth of the amount exported in the same period last year, said Ravi Gupta, chairman of a leading sugar producer.
In many parts of the world, many people in need of food have to wait.
The above situation is determined mainly due to the strong increase in container demand in China along with the recovery of the export industry in particular and the economy in general after the first Covid-19 outbreak.
Although it is not uncommon for carriers to return containers to the port of export, they will usually try to take advantage of shipping goods in both directions.
At the Port of Los Angeles, the 4th largest container port in the US, for every 4 containers from the US to China, 3 are empty (or 75%), higher than the normal rate of 50%.
`This situation has persisted since December 2020, the world will not only lack food but will also lack many things,` a representative of IM-EX Global said, emphasizing the paradox that many transportation companies
The container `fever` comes as US exporters are looking to increase exports of everything from soybeans to many other grains to Asia.
