The war in Ukraine, skyrocketing fuel prices and the ongoing pandemic is making it tough on Kiwi businesses trading goods overseas, something that’s not expected to change anytime soon.
Custom Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation’s Chris Edwards says there’s been consistent challenges over the last two years.
"I think if you ask most importers and exporters they’ll say it’s as bad as it’s ever been".
The borders opening up is good news for air freight, though much of the country relies on sea freight.
"I think by the end of the year, people who are bringing goods in by air freight, or sending them out by air freight, will have a better situation that they do now. But for sea freight, borders opening don't really make a difference at all and I think that's the biggest challenge for us at the moment," Edwards said.
The impacts of the war in Ukraine and fuel prices haven’t fully hit New Zealand yet, but are expected to in the coming months.
"Fuel prices were heading up before the Ukraine situation came along but it’s certainly not helping. It’s also leading to congestion in Europe that will affect the supply chains here in New Zealand," Edwards said.
The ongoing supply chain issues are one of the reasons Nelson based Proper Crisps has recently set up a manufacturing plant in the Yarra Valley in Melbourne. Proper Crisps' Andy Leonard says the company has struggled to keep up with increasing demand from across the ditch recently, not helped by shipping delays.
"We've seen a gradual deterioration over the last two years both in availability and cost so it's pretty challenging to get the volume we want out of Nelson, into Australia," Leonard said
Businesses in regions with smaller ports, like Nelson, say it’s harder to get goods in and out of with scheduled ships often skipping it all together. It’s also harder for small and medium sized businesses.
Hybrid Bikes’ Frank Witowski says it’s taking him 16 months to order in his custom Ebikes.
"Now it's got that bad that you just hope that you get goods. You don't really, you ignore the cost now of the freight because you're happy if you've got something to sell."
Witowski has been over ordering in case shipments don’t arrive and has already had to put in the orders for next year.
The cost of containers has become a big issue too, which has skyrocketed in just a few years. “When I started the cost was US$1800. It's now nearly US$14,000 so it's a crazy increase”.
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