In less than 24 hours, around 400 containers carrying bananas, plantains, melons and other perishable agricultural products have not been able to enter the facilities of the Santo Tomás de Castilla National Port Company (Empornac) in Izabal, which has generated concern among both users and authorities.
Since 5pm on Tuesday 6 August, a group of people from Izabal, who are denouncing an alleged privatisation of some port services, have decided to block the main access, thus hindering the loading and unloading of containers.
The fact was made known by the Empornac authorities after midday on Wednesday, August 7, while a shipping company warned its users that it is preferable not to dock at the aforementioned port.
Meanwhile, representatives of the logistics chain have also reported the inconvenience of not being able to operate, which is beginning to generate losses derived from possible non-compliance in the delivery of goods abroad.
Direct effect
When consulting José de la Peña, president of the board of directors of Empornac, he explained that on Tuesday it was still possible to dispatch two ships, but from 5 pm onwards there was a real blockade on the main boulevard of Santo Tomás, interrupting the street that gives access to the port, so it has not been possible to receive the containers that would be loaded onto ships that will set sail this Wednesday.
Among the products that cannot be shipped are melons, plantains, bananas and other agricultural goods considered perishable that are transported in refrigerated containers. “On an economic level, the impact is very strong and there are already warnings from shipping companies that they want to move to other nearby ports, which affects the country as a whole,” added de la Peña.
He then specified that the containers cannot pass to the pre-port area due to the blockade by a group of people who have no relation to Empornac, because they are not former employees, which was the original claim of yesterday’s demonstration.
He then added that there are plans to outsource warehouse 9 in Empornac, which provides cargo inspection services and is staffed by personnel from the Benefits Plan for workers who fear becoming unemployed. This is “despite the fact that there is an alternative program to the Benefits Plan.”
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