In August and September I blogged about the rapid increase in volumes of imports from Asia, especially China, in 2020. At the time, the information available to me focused on the Pacific coast ports, especially Long Beach and Los Angeles.
In the earlier blogs, I mentioned three concerns:
1. Had the collapse in trade and travel during spring 2020 so reduced user fees that Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had to furlough Agriculture Quarantine Inspectors? AQI inspections provide important incentives for importers to follow U.S. and international rules to reduce the risk that pests will be present in imports, for example, in wood packaging.
2. The list of imports from China in the first half of 2020 includes $1 billion worth of nursery stock. This is down about 7% from 2019. However, from the perspective of preventing plant diseases and pests, these imports continue to be high risk and are still not adequately addressed by U.S. policy.
3. Other Asian regions are gaining in import share. Thus we can expect to see more pests arriving from countries other than China, like Vietnam.
Cutbacks in Numbers of Inspectors?
CBP staff have told me that they are shifting AQI inspectors from covering incoming passengers – which are still far fewer than before the Pandemic – to inspecting cargo. By doing so, CBP has avoided cutting back on the total number of inspections of imported goods and associated wood packaging.
This is fortunate since Congress has not passed a new Covid-19 financing bill that might have included an increase in the appropriation for DHS CBP. The Continuing Resolution currently in effect funds the government only until December 11. So we have another chance to ask for an increase in appropriated funds for CBP (and APHIS!) for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2021 (which ends on October 1, 2021).
Volumes of Imports from Asia – Especially China
As I reported in the earlier blog, while U.S. imports from China declined significantly in 2019 and early 2020 compared to earlier years, by the summer imports had rebounded — more than doubled (by value) between March and July.
Shifts in U.S. Ports
According to the Journal of Commerce, there is a gradual shift away from the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the proportion of imported goods entering the country. LA-LB handled 37.7% of the loaded twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEUs) entering the United States in 2018. This fell to 33.5% in July 2020. The initial reason was a decrease in imports from East Asia (including China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) compared to Southeast Asia, Europe, then South America and, finally, South Asia (primarily India).
Other source regions – e.g., the Caribbean, Middle East, Pacific, Africa, and Atlantic – were all below 2% of total numbers of TEU in all three years, and changed minimally over this period.
Another reason for the shift in ports utilized by importers is congestion and delays at North American Pacific coast ports, especially Los Angeles-Long Beach. U.S. imports from Asia moving through LA-LB increased 22% in both September and August from the same months last year – 828,880 TEU in September after 832,210 TEU in August.
Congestion is also a problem at the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert – which have actually seen small decreases in numbers of incoming containers.
One result is a small but significant shift to Gulf Coast ports, which have become more accessible through the widening of the Panama Canal in 2016. Before the Canal was widened, these ports handled less than 3% of total US imports from Asia. In the first nine months of 2020, US Gulf ports handled 608,387 TEU from Asia – or 5.2% of total US imports from Asia. This was a 5% increase from the same period last year.
These ports, stretching from Houston to Tampa, benefit from easy and relatively cheap rail transport to inland U.S. and even Canadian cities. Another factor is the heavy presence of Walmart – which has major distribution centers in Mobile and Houston.
The Gulf coast ports are expected to expand their importance as gateways for Asian imports as ocean carriers add more capacity between the two regions and ports upgrade and expand. New Orleans and Houston plan major expansions. Port Tampa Bay notes its proximity to markets around the Southeast. Already, import volumes into Tampa during the first nine months of 2020 were nearly double the prior year’s level. Tampa hopes to double its capacity over the next five years.
U.S. imports from Asia in October were 22.6% higher than a year ago. Imports through the East and Gulf coast ports jumped 14.6% and 48.4% from September 2020. Houston and Baltimore saw the greatest increases since September. There were also shifts in Pacific ports. Still, the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex handled 49% of total US imports from Asia in October 2020.
Pest Risks to the Gulf Coast from Southeast Asia
Rising volumes of imports into the Gulf Coast present new opportunities for non-native insects and pathogens. The warm, wet climate of the region might be far more suitable to some insects and pathogens from tropical and subtropical Asia than the dry climate of southern California (except for areas that are irrigated artificially, such as golf courses, parks, and plant nurseries!).
Already, the redbay ambrosia beetle and its associated pathogenic fungus has decimated native redbay and swamp bay trees and now threatens sassafras (see write-up under the “invasive species” tab here.)
Another Southeast Asian ambrosia beetle – the polyphagous shot hole borer with its associated pathogenic fungus – might also find the Gulf Coast states more inviting than southern California. In California, it is causing the greatest damage to trees that are artificially irrigated. Numerous tree species native to or grown in the Gulf states are known hosts, e.g., box elder, sweetgum, and southern magnolia. (PSHB is described under the “invasive species” tab here.) Both ambrosia beetles apparently were introduced via wood packaging material.
Southeast Asia is also the place of origin of other pathogens which – in this case – would more probably be introduced on imported plants rather than wood. These include the numerous species of Phytophthora recently detected in Vietnam.
As this region receives more goods from Asia, and as those goods arrive more rapidly so more likely to arrive alive, it is imperative that all stakeholders increase their vigilance to detect new invaders. And that they join others pressing for improved policies aimed at preventing introductions.
Posted by Faith Campbell
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For a detailed discussion of the policies and practices that have allowed these pests to enter and spread – and that do not promote effective restoration strategies – review the Fading Forests report here.