By Karen Robes Meeks
The Port of Hueneme handled 1.6 million tons of cargo in fiscal year 2018, an “all-time high” for import and export movement at the port.
That represents an 8.1 percent jump from last year’s 1.48 million cargo tons and beats the 1.56 million cargo tons record set in fiscal year 2015, according to the port.
“This has been a tremendous year for our Port community, with more cargo than ever before passing through our seaport,” said Oxnard Harbor District President Mary Anne Rooney, who announced the record year at a recent Board of Commissioners meeting.
“This is a testament to the collaboration between our customers, community partners, and stakeholders to move cargo in the most efficient ways possible,” she said.
The port – which serves as the West Coast hub for the Chiquita, Del Monte and One Banana brands – is attributing the record to rises in almost all cargo imports and exports, including a 50 percent spike in pineapples and melons and a five percent jump in banana imports.
“A five percent increase in banana imports may not sound like a big deal, but when you take into account that we import over 3.3 billion bananas a year, that percentage increase can make a significant impact on our overall cargo tonnage,” said Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Jason Hodge. “And we’ve done this all while leading the industry in environmental initiatives and being named the Greenest Port in the United States.”
