International transport loses 200 million dollars a day

He Logistics Business Council (Coel) of Panama estimated this Monday at 200 million dollars daily losses in the international transport sector due to road closures as part of a wave of protests against the controversial mining contract, which enters its fourth week this Monday.

“Our future depends on our ability to facilitate the transit of global goods, not only would we lose the entrepreneurs who work in this, especially micro and medium-sized companies, but we are talking about more than half of Panamanian families,” he said. President Coela said at the press conference, Hugo Torrijos.

In a statement, that logistics union points out that “these losses are already turning into instability of jobs, an increase in unemployment and a shortage of supplies for all our fellow citizens”, and “in the international transport of goods, daily losses are estimated at around 200 million dollars.”

The document points out that Panama is “recognized as a Logistics Hub (hub) throughout the world and unfortunately has a lot of damage due to the closure of land routes.”

According to them, these closures “impossible the transit of import cargo, export cargo to and from Central America, as well as cargo connected by air.”

They refer to the roadblocks that Panama has been experiencing for more than 20 days as part of a wave of mass protests against the contract renewing the concession. Mining of Panamabranch of the Canadian First Quantum Minerals (FQM)for the exploitation of the largest open-pit copper mine in Central America, which caused a severe internal crisis.

This situation left long lines of cargo trucks on the roads. Panamericanathe most important because it crosses the country from north to south and connects it with the rest of Central America.

As a result of these roadblocks there are idsupply of food, fuel, gas and medicines in some cities of the countrya situation that the Government of Panama tried to alleviate import of gasoline and diesel from Costa Rica.

Businessmen from the logistics sector complained that “what we have stood for for so many years, the prestige of the Panama brand in the world, is collapsing” and that “a good part” of their members are micro-entrepreneurs “dedicated to land transport and that their families depend on daily income.

This, he believes, is a reality similar to that of “thousands of customs brokers and all other affected professionals”.

The logistics sector is one of the strongest pillars of the Panamanian economy, where they are located Panama Canal through which it passes 3% of world trade.

“Panama is a transshipment and import country (…) every second and minute, the port and logistics system continues to be filled and delayed,” Torrijos emphasized.

1.5 billion dollars in losses for the economy

Businessmen from the logistics sector insist in the document that highway blockades, such as the Panamericana, as a sign of protest against that mining contract, “and growing intolerance have caused incalculable losses.”

However, President Coela stated that “it can easily be calculated that the losses in these 23 days range between a trillion (billion) dollars and 1.5 (1.5 billion) in the entire Panamanian economy.”

According to that sector, “protests, barricades on the Panamericana, lives taken prematurely are the scars we now bear as a country” and “these are not only losses of millions, these are losses of hope, security and confidence in a better tomorrow.”

They further state that the losses “are not only of a financial nature, but also affect the physical, psychological and emotional health of our citizens”.