About a week ago we reported about the existing problem that many products we need for daily life or to operate our businesses are just not available.
But we found out that the situation is more serious than we first thought.
Yes there is not enough product in China because the factories were closed during Covid and there is a lack of transportation because there is no way to put more Container ships on the water to service the demand.
But additionally comes price gauging of greedy, scrupulous companies without any conscience, and the almost mafia like corruption at the Chinese ports.
We spoke to several importers, and the all tell the same alarming story. Freight rates are skyrocketing! The freight charges of a 40 ft container from China to the West coast of the USA was before Covid about $ 3,500 - $ 4,000. Now the freight charges for the same container is $ 16,000 !!!
Whoever pays most, gets the container.............perhaps.
It is not enough to pay these outrages prices but you also have to have connections, or send someone to the port and pay off the people in charge of container placement and loading, because the corruption is totally out of hands.
Companies shipping high-priced items may be able to afford those prices and to pass those on to there customers, but for all the cheap basic products we need to operate our businesses, like plastic nursery pots or cloth hangers this is just not possible and these containers are staying behind.
We at Charapita Farm grow and market specialty Hot Pepper, and we are unable to purchase plastic nursery pots for over 5 month. We jokingly ask our supplier for "Anti-fertilizer" to stop the growth of our plants because
we tried to talk to them and they don't listen and grow and grow.
The whole situation will even e escalate more in the coming months when holiday shipping is starting, and there will be a tremendous shortage not only for toys, clothing and electronics, but of all products.
Yes there is the market principle of demand and supply, but this situation is harmful for the global economy and mafia like exploitation of a monopoly in transportation has nothing to do with free market economics, but is criminal.
Our government needs to put pressure on the Chinese government to protect and guarantee the organized and undisrupted flow of shipments, and to fight the criminal activities at the Chinese ports.
The situation is not over soon and will go far into 2022 and we better wake up and break our dependency on China for the future.