Agricultural cargo transporters from the Highlands hope to reach an agreement today with a government commission

In the province of Chiriquí, the protests and street closures carried out by agricultural freight transporters continue due to the rise in fuel prices, despite the government’s proposal to freeze the price of a gallon of fuel at $3.95.

From Wednesday morning, carriers closed the inter-American highway at Gualaca, Chiriquí province; Late in the afternoon, the National Police proceeded to forcibly open the road, unleashing clashes between the cargo carriers and the crowd control units of the public force. This despite having reached an agreement to meet this Thursday in the Government of Chiriquí.

Lorenzo Jiménez, member of the Cold Chain of the Association of the Community of Producers of the Highlands (ACPTA), indicated that they hope that an agreement and understanding will be reached with the government commission, led by the Minister of Agricultural Development, Augusto Valderrama.

Regarding product losses, he said that it is still difficult to quantify the damages, even the economic ones. “At least lettuce, celery, in the cold chain we are already at the top and we can’t fit any more and they haven’t reached the market. They are highly perishable crops that can be lost in an unquantifiable way because they don’t last long,” he said.

He reiterated that what agricultural cargo carriers are requesting is to obtain the benefit of freezing the price of a gallon of fuel at $3.95.