More than 450,000 tons of imports are being held up in the maritime terminals of the Port of Buenaventura, due to road blockades that do not allow the transfer of goods to the different areas of the country.
According to the Buenaventura Chamber of Commerce, in the city there are not only food, inputs for the production of medicines and fertilizers, but also exports of agricultural products, sugar and coffee.
In this regard, the Executive President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Port, Angélica Mayolo, assured that the blockage of the corridor that connects Buga with Buenaventura has affected foreign trade.
“We have approximately 454,000 tons of cargo held up in the city’s five maritime terminals. The storage capacity is becoming more and more exhausted every day, in the case of bulk cargo it is about to reach 100% and in the case of containerized cargo, 60%,” he explained.
Likewise, the Chamber of Commerce warned that as the storage capacity of the Port is on the verge of collapsing, it is putting at risk “the attention of international flag vessels in the maritime interface, generating extra costs to importers”.
“A large part of the imports received by Buenaventura are inputs for the production of the industry of southwestern Colombia, among which stand out: poultry, pork, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, packaging, fertilizers, among others,” said the Chamber of Commerce.
It also called on the National Government to unblock the roads that connect Buenaventura with the rest of the country, since the impossibility of vehicular traffic is also delaying the supply of food and fuel to more than 12 municipalities of Chocó, Nariño and Cauca.
“Faced with this desolate panorama, we respectfully request the intervention of the National Government. Due to the road blockades Buenaventura has been without domestic gas service for more than ten days, there is a total shortage of perishable food and shortage of grains and groceries”, the entity indicated.
