WILLEMSTAD - A maximum price applies for the entire month of January for the use, collection and return of containers not on time. Minister of Economic Development (MEO) Ruisandro Cijntje wants to prevent an increase in consumer prices.
The maximum prices should serve as a kind of deposit for containers. This should ensure that the containers are returned within a certain period. The minister indicates that due to the corona pandemic, containers and special equipment for the transport of goods have been in the port for longer than usual. “This is expected to last until the end of January,” says Cijntje.
The situation has deteriorated because there is only a small space available within which Curaçao Ports Services (CPS) has to work. The containers must therefore be stacked. CPS gives priority to customers who are more in a hurry to handle containers.
The minister indicates that in January there is a maximum rate of one cent per day for the period that the container or special equipment is unloaded on the quay up to and including the day it leaves the port. In addition, a maximum of 0.01 guilders per day can also be charged after passing through the port gate up to and including fourteen days afterwards. For containers with a cooling element, this is three days.
According to Cijntje, companies face various problems. On the one hand, they have to deal with an enormous shortage of raw materials and products. On the other hand, companies have a huge inventory for which there is no storage. The minister notes that the importers have to pay at least $ 40,000 per day as additional costs. This is automatically calculated in the consumer prices. An unnecessary cost item according to the minister. “A temporary regulation is needed to limit the financial consequences of the situation.”