Mexican kabuli markets in 23/24/
"Chickpeas could disappear in Sonora if the lack of water continues”

Hi David, it's great to see you again! What have been some of the challenges over the last year for Aliansa?

This last year's been a year of lots of challenges, mostly in terms of getting products out of our warehouses and to their destinations. After Covid, we had a huge disruption to maritime routes and enormous rises in costs, and while prices have dropped, we are still seeing issues with a lack of containers in the ports.

What kind of issues have you been experiencing with the shipping lines?

The prices have come down, but I'd say that the services have not improved. To give some context, there are three different types of containers: type A, B, and C – type A and B are for foods, whereas the C-grade containers are generally used for other products. The lack of containers means that sometimes type A is not available, so we have opted for type B – not the optimal grade, but they still have acceptable conditions for our products. The issue is that sometimes a lack of containers has led the type B containers to become almost type C grade, taking longer routes, which has led this year to some incidents of humidity within the containers that have damaged the quality of the product.

Another issue is that things often can't be delivered on time. Here we use a small port named Guaymas, where only one shipping line comes regularly – here the ships are constantly changing and a trip that should be 15 days turns into 20, then 20 turns into even more, and so on. The delays have become the new normal, and we've had to find a way to adapt to the system because otherwise you simply can't meet your contracts.

Some of our containers have been left in the port for up to 30 days, which can mean huge losses of product, putting our sales operations at risk and potentially accumulating huge financial costs. It's now basically a constant fight with the shipping lines, and you can chase them and contact them as much as you like, but in the end, everything is on their terms.

What have been the consequences of the poor quality service for Aliansa?

We’ve had a few different incidents, some of which led to us losing up to 100% of the product that is shipped due to the damage sustained during the journey. Insurance companies can then come in on behalf of the clients, and if they've got good coverage then maybe it covers the loss/damage and they get some money back, but I get the sense that people haven't had much luck making claims.

The problem is all along the Pacific coast of Mexico, including Mazatlan. We could go over to the Atlantic coast, but it's more costly and sometimes we're not able to cover the costs of going that route.