The union of exporters has reported losses of $145 million, and more than 12,000 shipping containers held up because of the blockades which have now been going on for more than a week.
Reports indicate that two shipping companies have suspended operations at the ports and announced they will not disembark because of "inability to ensure the safety of their staff."This is just one example of the serious damage caused to in the country by the blockades and demonstrations held by truckers for almost a week at customs offices and ports in Guatemala.
Operations in Santo Tomas de Castilla are back to normal, after truck drivers and customs agents agreed with the Government to improve conditions at the terminal.
In protest against the slow pace with which procedures are processed at customs offices, a group of customs managers and truck drivers have blocked off the entrance to the terminal facilities.
Soy502.com reports that on Friday afternoon "... a group of about 350 people blocked access to facilities of the Port of Santo Tomas de Castilla." The blockades started on Wednesday, March 9, causing delays and discomfort for exporters and importers.
The union has exhausted dialogue with the regional government of Chiriqui and is a blockading the border preventing the movement of freight carriers in Central America.
The provincial government in Chiriqui has failed to prevent Panamanian carriers, organized by the National Chamber of Cargo Transportation in Panama, (Canatraca) from indefinitely blocking the passage of trucks across the border in Paso Canoas (information at time of going to press at 3:30 p.m).
Less than 24 hours after it started union leaders signed an agreement with the Solis administration to end the strike that had paralyzed ports and the sale of fuels.
The strike called by major unions in the country lasted less than 24 hours and did not achieved the "historic" call aimed for by the organizers, who negotiated an end to the strike with the government around midnight on October 26.
An announcement has been made that the area for attention to freight will be expanded and in order to streamline processes, they will go back to using a guide in which carriers list the goods they are transporting.
The response from the Customs authorities in Chiriquí comes after a border closure caused by freight carriers from throughout Central American demanding streamlined procedures and improved services.
The authorities at customs offices in Guatemala and Honduras have opened new routes for regional transit of goods between the two countries.
The aim of the opening of new routes at the borders between the two countries, in El Florido and Agua Caliente, is to streamline regional trade which has been blocked because of the protests over the application of a fee of $18 in Salvadoran customs offices for X-ray inspection of trucks.
Central American companies are asking the Salvadoran government to intervene in the conflict, which is already generating huge losses.
Legislation in the region allows customs offices to design nonintrusive inspection methods, but these should not generate arrears in clearance or excessive costs which obstruct the free movement of goods, services and people.
Only cargo destined for El Salvador should be charged with the $18 fee for the inspection with scanner, request freight carriers.
According to the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA), this fee violates conventions and trade agreements in the region. In addition, they believe that the inspections and the time it takes to submit all shipments to the procedures are excessive.
The regional union of freight carriers is protesting about the fee for inspections using scanners at Salvadoran customs offices and the delays it has generated.
The Central American Freight Council declared a protest strike at Salvadoran borders over the payment of $18 for the inspection of cargo travelling overland.