Transportation of Food: Ships: Recent Developments

Over long distances, moving food by ship is less costly and uses less energy than any other mode of transportation. One reason for the lower cost is that ships engaged in international trade do not pay taxes on fuel. Some critics have argued that ships should pay taxes for fuel so that the cost of food will accurately reflect the true costs of the travel. While ship transportation is more energy efficient for long distances, these calculations do not always consider the cost of transporting food to and from ports; this usually requires trucks, the most energy inefficient mode of transportation. In addition, since the price of fuel has risen over the past few decades, the cost of ship transportation of food has also increased.