Customs work-to-rule: Importers of essential food items badly affected

Importers of essential food commodities have been badly affected by the indefinite work-to-rule campaign launched by Customs officials, the Essential Food Commodities, Importers and Traders Association said yesterday.

Addressing a news briefing, the association’s president G. Rajendran said they were incurring large losses when importing food commodities during the last couple of months.

“From January 30 to date all our containers are lying in the port and we the importers have to bear the port demurrage charges, banking interest, shipping company liner demurrage cost and transport charges,” Mr. Rajendran said.

He said they were thankful to the customs authorities for allowing them to release the perishable cargoes such as Potatoes and Onions on priority basis which brought some sort of relief to their members.

“The major issue here is that with more shipments of essential food commodities arriving every day and getting accumulated, we find it extremely difficult to clear it all at once when the strike action is called off because of finance, unloading and insufficient storing facilities,”

“Therefore we hope that the authorities would resolve the issue as early as possible to help us get the food items out to the general public quickly,” he added. (Sheain Fernandopulle)

Video by Buddhi, Sanjeewa