Port extends banana contract
The Port of Hueneme has secured a five-year extension of its contract with Del Monte Fresh produce, the port’s biggest banana customer.
Bananas are the port’s largest import, accounting for about 46 percent of its overall import business by revenue ton, a unit of measure devised to equalize shipments of disparate products.
The banana firm has had an ongoing relationship with Port of Hueneme for 34 years, and the current deal is an extension of the port’s 1995 contract. Del Monte came to the port in 1979. Bananas were unloaded by hand and packed into waiting trucks for nearly a decade until equipment for loading cranes and refrigeration buildings were built.
“A lot has changed, but the partnership between the port and Del Monte has only gotten better with time,” Harbor Board President Jason Hodge said in a release. “We are proud that a world class customer like Del Monte chooses the Port of Hueneme for their West Coast operations.”
“The port has been a valuable partner in helping us stay competitive in an increasingly regulated business environment. This contract modification extending our 1995 agreement includes one more five-year extension,” Del Monte’s Port Manager Chuck Caulkins said in a release.
