:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/AXDJC5YLSFCL5GPNMEH3X47PMA.jpg "Pan-American Highway: Asoleche denounced that after a month of blockade there are still no solutions")
A month has passed since the collapse of the via Pan Americanin Rosas (Cauca), which prevents normal communication by land between Narino and the rest of the country and which has pending the effective transport of more than 12 million liters of milk per month in the territory. For this reason, Asoleche (Colombian Association of Milk Processors) He reiterated his concern and asked for speed in short-term measures to alleviate this urgency.
“Despite meetings with the national and departmental government, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the National Disaster Risk Management Unit, the National Roads Institute (Invías), the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI), among other entities, the industry continues to have cost overruns due to the difficulty in transporting milk, ”assured the executive president of Asoleche, Andrea González.
Likewise, the Executive Chairman said that the alternative of transporting food by road that connects with Ecuador could not run because the compensation mechanism it is not published,
“This is an alternative route that would facilitate the passage of this perishable product and could help us compensate for the losses that currently persist for the union,” González said.
In turn, he explained that the cost of transportation assumed by the sector has tripled by having to distribute the milk in several trucks the smaller ones separately to be reconnected later. In view of the above, As such reiterated the urgency of putting in place an alternative to counter the difficult situation affecting the dairy sector in Narino and Cauca.
There Pasto Chamber of Commerce reported an increase in business registration cancellations. In addition, a loss of approximately 250,000 liters of milk which are normally transported from this department to the processing plants in Valle del Cauca
Crisis in Nariño due to a landslide on the Pan-American highway: foods such as milk, potatoes and brown sugar are dammed
Some businesses have had to close due to the losses generated by the clogging which is already a month old. The government would still take several weeks to deliver the promised corridors to facilitate mobility
Likewise, the sectors of tourism, construction, transport and agriculture reported daily losses for 250 million pesos.
The national government has taken economic measures to resolve the crisis. After a Council of Ministers on January 22, 2023, President Gustavo Petro announced, among other things, that tables would be set up with certain sectors, including the dairy industry, which are seriously suffering from the solitary confinement due to lack of roads.
Fenalco reiterated the need to declare an economic, social and environmental emergency in Nariño
The trade union noted that given the serious situation that the department continues to experience, it is necessary to apply tax relief such as the exemption from VAT
“We are looking for more than 400,000 tonnes of milk to be purchased by this sector from dairy producers in the department in order to be transformed into cheeses, yoghurts, etc. The national government will buy all this transformation and bring it to the rest of the country for programs to fight hunger in Colombia,” he stressed.
An urgent call repeats the National Federation of Traders (Fenalco) the national government to declare economic, social and environmental emergency In Narino Given the situation that the department is still experiencing following the closure of the by Panamerican.
Due to the closure of the Pan-American Highway, fewer visitors may be registered in Pasto during Holy Week
The Catholic Church has expressed concern that the obstruction on the road will affect the arrival of parishioners
This request had been made by the merchants’ union on January 14 in the Economic Emergency Committeeof which all the productive sectors of the department belong.
“Although the government has made several announcements, the truth is that during their implementation, citizens, traders and other sectors are warning of serious supply problems, high costs in the basic family basket and a sharp slowdown in economic activity, which will have repercussions on job creation in the region,” said Fenalco President Jaime Alberto Cabal.
The spokesperson for the traders also added that given the serious situation that the department continues to experience, it is necessary to apply tax breaks such as VAT exemption, wage subsidy, financial relief and special credit lines, among other initiatives that give pause to entrepreneurs and, of course, to Nariñenses.