PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The union contract between longshoremen and the companies that operate six grain terminals in the Pacific Northwest expires Sunday, threatening to disrupt shipments of wheat, corn and soybeans to Asia as the weight of last year's violent protests in Longview, Wash., bears down on negotiations.

Neither side has commented on the talks. Pat McCormick, spokesman for the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association, the consortium of grain shippers, declined to say if there are plans to boost security or hire replacement workers.

"Prudence suggests that probably everyone involved has contingency plans, but I don't have anything I can confirm," he said.

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