News / Importers claim Del Monte boxes given priority, while their fruit rotted

Fresh fruit importers have filed a claim with the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) for $2m damages against a Fresh Del Monte-owned shipping operator.

The six complainants (Coast Citrus Distributors, Amazon Produce Network, Refin Tropicals, JW Fresh, Sembrios and Bresson) allege Network Shipping’s (NWS) preferential treatment of Del Monte during 2021-2022’s mango season led to spoilage in 108 of their own containers.

The complaint reads: “NWS failed to provide chassis to the importers because it had allocated available chassis to containers delivered by Del Monte, an importer affiliated with NWS.

“The delay caused by NWS in retrieving [our] containers from the port was so extreme that, in some cases, the containers remained at the port for over 50 days waiting for the chassis. At least 108 containers remained at the port for 10 or more days, leading to spoilation.”

The complainants claim they sought to mitigate shortages at California’s Port Hueneme by sourcing their own chassis, but were unable to procure the appropriate type in sufficient quantities.

The group describe the behaviour as an “ongoing and continuous practice” that “lasted the entire mango season”, with NWS at no point providing adequate notice of an expected shortage of suitable chassis.

They claim: “Del Monte’s cargo was not delayed, and was the only cargo moving out of the port… leaving [our] containers sitting,” and say NWS was aware that their cargo also contained fresh mangos, “but breached its obligation to allocate chassis in a just and non-discriminatory fashion”.

Citing the Shipping Act, the group claims violations pertaining to NWS’ receiving, handling, storing, and delivering of goods that its actions were “unfair or unjustly discriminatory”.

The filing adds: “The complainants are competitors of Del Monte, an NWS affiliate. NWS was giving preferential treatment to containers shipped by Del Monte… the prejudice or disadvantage to the complainants was the proximate cause of injury.”

Del Monte’s links to NWS are well known, with The Loadstar having reported in May 2022 that it was looking to sell space to shippers with time-sensitive requirements.