Braley warns oil spill could affect movement, prices of ag commodities

An Eastern Iowa congressman is asking the Obama administration consider the impact the BP oil spill could have on Midwest agricultural commodity prices.

As oil continues to drift closer to the Southwest Passage, a critical shipping lane for farmers who rely on barge traffic to ship crops overseas, 1

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District Rep. Bruce Braley is concerned about the impact a slowdown in Mississippi River traffic could have on prices for farmers, producers and distributors.

In a letter to the president, Braley and Illinois Rep. Phil Hare said “past experience has shown that delays in traffic have had a drastic economic impact on regions beyond the Gulf.”

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the ag industry suffered declines in the prices of commodities as a result of the traffic slowdown, they wrote.

“Access to the Mississippi is crucial to many of the businesses in our districts, and it is critical to the agricultural industry who depends on barge shipping to get their products to the rest of the world at competitive costs,” the congressmen said.

Braley is not aware of any shippers who have experienced delays as a result of the oil spill. He explained that the oil does not delay shipping itself. The delay comes because ports, such as the Port of New Orleans, require vessels be cleaned so the contamination is not brought into the port, Braley said.

“Our concern is that this issue does not become a more significant and costly delay to the shippers and those receiving those goods,” Braley said.

He supports raising BP's liability for the incident from $75 million to $10 billion, retroactively, and said any loss suffered by the agricultural industry is “one more issue (BP) should be on the hook for.”