WASHINGTON — A large group of business and agriculture organizations, including the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), continues to push the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) to come together for a lasting contract agreement.

In a letter, the coalition asked the two sides to agree to terms on a new contract, before the current one expires on Jan. 15. The groups reached a tentative agreement on Oct. 3 following a three-day strike by dockworkers in the East and Gulf ports. 

“We know significant issues remain between the parties,” the letter stated. “However, we continue to believe the only way to resolve these issues and come to an agreement is to actually stay at the negotiating table. The continuing start and stop of the negotiations leads to further uncertainty in the supply chain, which continues to cause challenges.”

In a recent update, the NPPC pointed out that the pork industry depends on exports, which account for about a quarter of all sales and contribute to the producer’s bottom line. 

“About 60% of US pork exports are transported by ocean freight, with nearly 45% being shipped from East Coast and Gulf ports,” NPPC added. 

In some locations, chilled pork would be exported to include the Caribbean along with Central and South America.

If a long-term deal cannot be reached in the next month, more port disruptions could be on the horizon, which includes dockworker strikes and port lockouts that hurt the delivery of perishable items like pork.

Both ILA and USMX provided a recent negotiation update in mid-November.