USAID outlines procedures for food aid handling in Houston

USAID outlines procedures for food aid handling in Houston    The U.S. Agency for International Development has established procedures for moving food aid between cargo terminals in Houston and the private, non-union Jacintoport terminal in the Gulf port.
   If the shipment is available on a F.A.S. (free alongside ship) Houston, the ocean carrier may instruct the commodity supplier to deliver it to any U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved terminal in Houston, or to the Jacintoport.
   Under this arrangement, the carrier is responsible for the handling costs and other port-related charges to relocate the commodity to another Houston terminal.
   Traditionally, USAID and USDA incorporate the definition of F.A.S. to mean a waterborne lift. In other words, a vessel is required to move the shipment between terminals. The agencies will remove this requirement for future tenders in Houston, but they remain in effect for other U.S. ports.
   If the shipment is available F.A.S. Jacintoport, the ocean carrier may also divert the cargo to another Houston terminal at its own expense, or obtain written consent from USAID and USDA to direct the supplier on which terminal to make the delivery.
   “Written consent is required in order for USDA to adjust the commodity contract for handling and wharfage charges included in deliveries to Jacintoport,” said USAID in a memo to the ocean carriers participating in the P.L. 480 Title II food aid program.
   For a list of approved Houston terminals, access https://www.fsa.usda.gov/daco/Export/ApprvdPortFacilities.pdf . Questions about the procedures may be directed to Denise Scherl, chief of the USAID Transportation Division in Washington, by telephone at (202) 712-0101, or by e-mail.