For O'ahu shoppers, the Aloha cargo closure is expected to make it harder to find produce grown on the Neighbor Islands. Prices for local produce could also go up, at a time when consumers already are paying more for groceries.

"You're going to see less of the products coming into the stores here on O'ahu," said Alan Takemoto, executive director of Hawai'i Farm Bureau. "The farmers ... are just in a state of shock."

And for farmers and florists, the shutdown couldn't have come at a worse time.

Florists and lei makers say this is one of the busiest times of the year — with Lei Day (tomorrow) and Mother's Day (May 11) around the corner, not to mention proms and the graduation season.

Farmers, meanwhile, say profits already are being eaten away by rising fuel costs, which they often can't pass on to consumers.

Aloha's cargo shutdown "is a dramatic shock to our economy," said Matthew Loke, state agricultural development division administrator. "Consumers will have to pay a higher price in the short run. The quality of fresh, perishable products may be impacted."

O'ahu is the main market for most Neighbor Island produce.

In May 2007, 390,000 pounds of produce were shipped or flown to Honolulu from the Neighbor Islands.

Loke said small farmers will have a hard time catching up in the wake of the Aloha shutdown.

And some Neighbor Island farmers say they're looking at scaling back because of the loss of the cargo carrier.

"We only hope that something happens and they revive the cargo," said Eric Tanouye, president of the Hawai'i Florists and Shippers Association. "A lot of people were depending on it."

Tanouye said one of the big problems is that to put cargo on Hawaiian Airlines, shippers must have special documentation from the Transportation Security Administration since the items are loaded onto passenger planes.

But, Tanouye said, most smaller growers don't have that documentation.

"Everyone is pretty much under the gun. Everyone is affected," said Chauncy Monden of Kula Country Farm on Maui, which used Aloha to ship strawberries to O'ahu.

For some farmers, shipping by barge is not an option because it takes too long (about a day).

And the Superferry is also not an option for some, since shippers are required to accompany their cargo.

SUPERFERRY RUNS

At least one business, though, will be offering space on a large truck to be shipped on the Superferry.

Commodity Forwarders Inc., on Koapaka Street, is selling space for perishables on a 22-foot refrigerated truck that will ride on the Superferry to Maui starting today. On Monday, the company will increase the size of its refrigerated truck to 40 feet. The truck will be filled on O'ahu, and refilled on Maui for the trip back.

Norma Acob, regional manager for Commodity Forwarders, said the company has been in talks for months with the Superferry about offering the service, and did trial runs before Aloha's shutdown. She said if the service is popular, the company will add a second truck or do more runs. "It's filling up pretty quickly," Acob said.

Still, the run will make little more than a dent in the cargo need, industry experts say.

Katie Anderson, executive director of the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association, predicts the Aloha shutdown will affect how a range of perishables, from produce to tofu, get to supermarkets.

SHIPMENTS ON HOLD

Neighbor Island residents will likely be hardest hit, but O'ahu consumers will also see the difference, she said.

"It's going to have a terrible effect on our food shippers," she said.

Yesterday, some food distributors were forced to hold back shipments to the Neighbor Islands.

Kevin Shigemura, vice president of Armstrong Produce, said a shipment to Maui was canceled yesterday. The company was able to get shipments to the Big Island and Kaua'i on other carriers.

Eric Enomoto, president of HPC Foods Ltd., said the wholesaler is "exploring all options" to get its wide range of products — from fresh-cut vegetables to poi — out to the Neighbor Islands today. He said the company is expecting some losses in the short-term, but it isn't yet clear just how big they will be.

At Paradise Flower Farms on Maui, which sells flowers for lei and florists, owner Teena Rasmussen said she sent a shipment to O'ahu by FedEx yesterday — much more costly than her usual Aloha shipments, but something she was forced to do if she wanted to keep her customers happy.

"It's a nightmare," she said.