Moratorium on port fees pushed

The government has been urged to implement a moratorium on port fees among 9 “doable” recommendations put forward by the business community to improve efficiency and reduce logistics cost as a form of subsidy to the ailing business sector and consumers at large.

- BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT

In a position signed by 15 associations, businessmen cited Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Resolution No. 24 approving the recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to pursue Supply Chain Regulatory Impact Assessments and to develop the Supply Chain Analysis (SCAN) Dashboard.

Based on this, the business community has put forward nine “doable” recommendations.

Foremost, businesses would like government to implement a moratorium on demurrage/detention fees, port congestion surcharges, and other penalties imposed on cargoes/shipments stuck at the port due to slow DO issuances/bank processing /customs clearance and apply this retroactively to all shipments affected.

The group noted that a recent forum, it was mentioned that international shipping lines are imposing port congestion surcharges of $1,400 per reefer container. On top of this, demurrage charges (₱ 1400-2,800 per 40’ dry container; ₱ 2800-3,200/day for reefers), and other penalties are likewise imposed.