Citrus and fruit growers in California complain that ongoing port congestion on the US West Coast, saying it was costing them US$3m a week during the peak export period.
One company complained of shipping half of its usual 350 containers.
Growers in the San Joaquin Valley have been forced to leave fruit on trees longer than usual to avoid rotting in storage, meaning fruit is deteriorating.
The ongoing dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshoreman Workers Union (ILWU) has seen four months of labour negotiations culminate in 29 ports being shutdown at the weekend. The White House announced it would send US labor secretary Tom Perez to California to intervene in the dispute, one which has impacted the US$1bn citrus export industry during its peak export period to markets such as South Korea, Japan and China.