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Exporters refuse to charge fees per container
Posted On 24 Jul 2018
Ecuadornews:
The trade union of exporters is opposed to the collection of tariffs that the deposits of the Port of Guayaquil charge from June 18 for their services. The value that they now pay for each container is between $ 35 and $ 50.
This decision is part of the reform of the Municipal Ordinance that regulates the conditions of Ordering and Building of the Deposits of Temporary Empty Containers in the Guayaquil canton. The norm forces the yards to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week with the objective of reordering and decongesting the traffic caused by the trucks that move the loads.
The fine for deposits that do not comply with the provision is 100 unified basic salaries and temporary or permanent closure. Richard Salazar, executive director of the Association of Marketing and Export of Bananas (Acorbanec) considers the collection of these rates as “arbitrary and unconsultated”. He said that the courtyards took this ordinance as an excuse to collect said values.
“In the case of bananas, it could reach three to four cents per box.” He added that the exporters oppose the collection, but not the ordinance. They do not agree that the value is assumed by the export sector; it must be the shipping companies. “The measure increases costs and therefore reduces competitiveness to exports,” he added.
The banana representative requests the intervention of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP) to manage and settle the issue. “We will go to the final consequences, even with legal actions.” We reject this measure, which for us is illegal and unconstitutional. “The head of the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA), José Ant4onio Camposano, joins this request.
Radio I99 indicated that the MTOP must define that the fee for payment of container yards must be paid by the owner of the container and not by the exporter, while Daniel Legarda, executive president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), said that the impact of this cost for the export sector could be between $ 14,000,000 and $ 20,000,000 annually, while the president of the Maritime Chamber of Ecuador, Javier Moreira, clarified that the municipal ordinance has a direct impact on costs.
Operation of container deposits
The container yards, to have an operation permit, must comply with certain regulations and these require investments and decisions in the short and long term. “The 24-hour service including weekends and holidays changes the scheme with which the yards have been working and makes a logical increase in cost.” He clarified that each yard has the freedom to designate what the cost represents based on the investment it makes and the staff it manages. “Here nobody is to set a price, there is an ordinance that is the same for everyone and that each one based on their type of business has to establish what the tariff is.”
The maritime representative
He clarified that this is not an issue that involves negotiation and that the container yards have to be transparent and show their clients what their reality is and the reasons for charging the fees. (I)
