Regulatory body formed to help resolve port woes

CEBU, Philippines -  The Philippine International Seafreight  Forwarders Association (PISFA-Cebu) welcomes the creation of a regulatory body of the Export Development Council to ensure that shipping lines charge fair prices.

PISFA-Cebu president Carmel Salvador said yesterday that while this issue has been long overdue and has yet to get attention for intervention by government agencies, creation of the regulatory body could accelerate the resolution of this issue.

Salvador said PISFA-Cebu is going to coordinate with EDC Cebu representative Alan Suarez to make Cebu an active participant in this concern.

Currently, PISFA-Cebu, together with business organizations like Cebu Chamber Commerce and Industry, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, are bent to submit a joint manifesto to encourage the Department of Transportation and Communication to look into the shipping lines' imposition of port congestion fee to forwarders.

Salvador said Cebu has to push for the abolition of these charges, especially that Cebu is not suffering from port congestion.

Recently, the public-private EDC announced that it is pushing for the establishment of a regulatory body that will ensure shipping lines charge fair prices, as the export sector continues to incur higher costs due to port congestion.

In a resolution, the EDC Executive Committee said the body will be tasked with ensuring that shipping lines do not demand importers and exporters exorbitant surcharges and other related fees.

It noted that exporters are unduly charged with container demurrage, storage and port congestion fees, among others, leading to an increase in costs ranging from $100 to $500.

The  creation of a regulatory body will also obligate the shipping lines to have their own container yards.

In an interview with Suarez, he said that Cebu port is still not congested. (FREEMAN)