Costa Rican Chamber of Industry, concerned about blockades in Panama

The Chamber of Industry of Costa Rica This Friday, he expressed concern about the protest situation that Panama is experiencing, which has caused delays in sea and land transfers, as well as increased costs.

CEO of the company Chamber of Industry of Costa Rica (ICRC), Carlos Montenegrohe indicated in statements to EFE that the main problem faced by companies in Panama are blockades, due to complications in the supply of raw materials and fuel, which threatens business continuity.

“If you take the time between the shipment of the plant to the port, loading, sea transit and release from the port, it takes 7 to 8 days in total, while land transport takes an average of 1 and a half days,” commented Montenegro.

The executive director of the ICRC added that the rate of land 1375 dollars for a van that holds 30 export pallets, while the shipping cost is $2,678 and only 20 pallets are in that container.

Now we have 6 days of transit more and 2.9 times more expensive per pallet, explained from Montenegro.

The ICRC’s executive director also indicated that the mobility of workers to companies in Panama has become a “very risky” task and that many producers in the country’s agricultural and industrial sectors are losing demand because they cannot go outside the outlets.

The road blockades that Panama is experiencing began almost a month ago, as part of a wave of mass protests against the contract renewing the concession of Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals (FQM), to exploit the copper mine. .the largest open pit in Central America, which triggered a severe internal crisis.

That situation is gone long lines of cargo trucks on the Pan American Highwaythe 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 also shortages of food, fuel, gas and medicine in some cities in the country, which the Panamanian government has tried to alleviate by importing gasoline and diesel from Costa Rica.

According to data from the Chamber of Industry of Costa Rica, exports from this country to Panama are about 607 million dollars, and imports are about 236 million dollars.

The main export products are concentrates for beverages, plastic packaging, medicines, animal feed, antisera, soybean oil, while the main products imported from Panama are medicines, aluminum packaging, textiles and clothing, fish, nuts and palm kernelsamong others.