Freight price hike to hit exporters

Pending increases in freight prices threaten to hit Irish food exporters’ profits by up to €10m per year and could lead to many companies withdrawing from selling to non-EU countries.

All of the major deep sea shipping companies are set to apply a $1,500 (€1,845) per container price increase for refrigerated goods at the start of January — upping the average container price for exporters of agri-food and fish from $3,000 to $4,500.

The move is being led by Danish shipping line, Maersk, which handles 40% of Irish food and fish exports to destinations outside the EU; but is being followed by all of its competitors.