June 26, 2021
Due to a stricter interpretation of EU standards, containers of fruit from Latin America are being redirected or destroyed.
Hundreds of containers of fruit and vegetables intended for the European market from Latin America are being held up at the Port of Algeciras in southern Spain due to changes in the way EU sanitary laws are implemented.
Last week, the port administration warned of a “serious” scenario, citing the Algeciras Department of Foreign Health’s rigorous interpretation of EU norms governing fruit coverings, which resulted in several containers being rejected, causing havoc with the port’s cold chain logistics.
“Some containers are being burned or are awaiting destruction, while many others are being rerouted to other European ports,” a port official said.
The situation, according to Gerardo Landaluce, president of the Algeciras Bay Port Authority (ABPA), is “causing incalculable damage to an entire sector and to the port community that, after years of effort, had managed to make the Port of Algeciras a preferential entry point for horticultural products arriving in Europe from Latin America in the face of strong competition from northern European ports.”
“The European Commission would have requested a strengthening of controls on these products to ensure that they effectively comply with European Union regulations, establishing new procedures,” a spokesperson said, adding, “but you would have thought that any such change would have been applied equally strictly across all ports of entry.”
One Spanish importer and marketer, which has a number of containers of mangoes detained at the port informed that importers were working closely with the port authority to find a swift resolution to the crisis.
“Right now, we have two options: wash the coatings off the fruit or feed it to the animals,” the importer explained.
“The only other option is to shift the containers to a different port, such as Rotterdam. However, Dutch importers are bracing for the same problem.”
The APBA has called for an immediate end to the blockade, which it claims is causing “extremely substantial economic damage.” It has also asked for the formation of a National Committee of Experts to investigate how EU sanitary laws are implemented at the major European ports.